UPDATE (8/9/21): VICTORY - Nass Festival CANCELLED: Nass Festival Was A Disaster For Locals in 2019 - Will It Be Better in 2021?

 

It Doesn't Help When Local Councillors Give Backing to Festivals!

UPDATE (8/9/21): We have just received confirmation that Vision Nine Group has CANCELLED Nass 2021.

Leader of Somerset Independents Andrew Pope says:

"I attended the recent virtual residents meeting and raised once again the issues that residents had contacted me about, especially in the light of the disastrous way that Vision Nine Group organised the Boardmasters Festival in Cornwall that led to 4,700 Covid-19 infections as reported by ITV West Country.

I asked Vision Nine what lessons they had learned from Boardmasters. The answers were not convincing. Other residents at the meeting also raised concerns about anti-social behaviour, road safety and noise nuisance was also discussed.

If the organisers dealt with the issues in a way that showed that they had listened and acted, residents would not have to raise their concerns.

I congratulate Vision Nine Group for finally listening and taking the responsible action of cancelling the Festival.

Now they need to plan better in future to protect their festival goers and local residents.

Otherwise, Somerset Independents will stand up for residents again."

---

 Nass Festival was run disastrously in 2019 at Bath and West Showground.

There were many bad aspects about how it was organised, how it was run and how it was regulated by Mendip District Council who are the Licensing Authority.

After these problems, there was a review by Mendip District Council and organisers of Nass Festival - Vision Nine Group - have made many promises to residents.

Somerset Independents has been in direct contact with Vision Nine Group, who confirmed via this website that they intend to still run Nass Festival on 23rd to 26th September 2021. 

Somerset Independents has also been in touch with the Director of Public Health for Somerset, Trudi Grant, about the Covid-19 safety of the event.

And Somerset Independents has also been in touch with Licensing Officers at Mendip District Council.

Residents need more assurances and so Somerset Independents has been asking questions of the above people and organisations.

We have had to do it because the local Mendip District Councillor for Evercreech Barry O'Leary has been quoted on the Nass Festival website (see above), supporting the running of Nass Festival. 

Councillor Barry O'Leary

Somerset Independents has confirmed with Jools Butterfield of Vision Nine Group that the following quote was approved by Councillor O'Leary:

“I welcome NASS proceeding cautiously - it’s great they are working with local communities and agency’s to take account of the challenges, let’s look forward to a COVID-safe experience later this year !”

 Cllr. Barry O'Leary

Deputy Leader Mendip District Council

 

Local residents are outraged that their local ward Councillor O'Leary has given his backing to the festival, when so many residents were negatively affected by Nass Festival in 2019.

So to listen to residents and act for residents, Somerset Independents asked Mr Butterfield the following questions, in order to try to get assurances from the organisers.

Are you convinced? Contact us to tell us what you think.

Question from Somerset Independents to Nass Festival organiser:

Q1. What have you done to address the problems that occurred in the local area and affecting local residents, when the NASS Festival was last run?

 

Answer by Nass Festival:

"The best way to get the information is to attend the consultation date as there are quite a lot of solutions. No re-entry policy, the closure of Bagborough Lane, brand new traffic management plan now with gates at North and South of site run by the Glastonbury TMP team, Thursday and Friday limited entry tickets and special measures for Mendip School are some of the notable highlights."

Q2. When is this residents' meeting (that Nass Festival have repeatedly claimed to be organising) occurring? The letter did not say. The community website does not say at the time of writing.

 

Answer by Nass Festival:

"Still waiting on various stakeholders to narrow down their diaries, but approx six weeks prior to event is the optimum time. Should know this within a week."

Q3. Which areas received the letter? 

 

Answer by Nass Festival:

"16,000 addresses within an approx 5 mile radius of Bath and West. The companies you have to use for this task are never perfect I have to say, so there are always some people who don’t receive it, but all 16,000 were delivered."

Leader of Somerset Independents, Andrew Pope, says:

Andrew Pope

"What do residents think of these answers? The residents that I have asked so far, have not been impressed. They are concerned.

Did you receive one of these letters? As a local resident, I did not receive one.

Are you happy that this event is going ahead?

Are you reassured by what the organisers have told us?

Contact us to let us know."

 

CAMPAIGN: Somerset Independents Wants Criminal Records Checks For All Candidates And Elected Representatives

 

Somerset Independents was formed to stand up for residents, because Somerset's elected representatives are not doing their jobs. 

Worse than that, some of Somerset's Parliamentary, council and Police Commissioner candidates and even those who have served in office, were and/or are dodgy. The facts are there. Some of the proof is documented on this very website.

Somerset residents deserve better representation.

So to stand up for better representation, we have started the Somerset Independents Campaign to ensure that it is the LAW that:

1. To be a valid candidate for public office, all candidates should show evidence of a Standard DBS check to be declared a validly-nominated candidate. If the Standard DBS check does not come back as "Clear", then the person cannot be on the Statement of Persons Nominated issued by the Returning Officer for that election.
   
2. ALL MPs/PCCs/councillors should be subjected to Standard DBS checks annually if and when they are elected.
   
3. If an elected representative is found in the Standard DBS check when in office to not have a clear result, then this should be a Standards matter and grounds for censure. The grounds for censure must include the option for recall of the councillor/MP/PCC by their constituents, in the same manner for PCC and councillors, as is possible now for MPs.

There should be consistency on the law for all elected representatives - not one law for councillors, one law for MPs and one law for PCCs. It is a mess and needs to be clarified.

Obviously, the law is currently a long way from the above three objectives. So in the meantime, until the law implements the above, Somerset Independents believes that it is incumbent on those with the power to do so, to perform these checks and to take whatever steps are possible to achieve the above.

And if these authorities do not, Somerset Independents will work with other Somerset residents to hold those in authority to account and if necessary, expose their failures to do so.

Wiltshire Council Confirms - They Don't Check Criminal Records For All Councillors - Even For A Banned PCC Candidate

 

Councillor Jonathon Seed
BANNED From Being PCC

Somerset Independents is campaigning for all candidates for elected office, and all those in elected office to represent the people, to be subjected to criminal records (DBS) checks. More information on the Somerset Independents Campaign is at the link here.

When the Conservative Wiltshire Councillor Jonathon Seed was BANNED from being Wiltshire's elected Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), you would have thought that he would also be banned from representing Wiltshire residents as a councillor.

Well Councillor Seed is still a councillor, being elected in May 2021, the same month that he was elected - and then banned - from being Wiltshire PCC.

Somerset Independents has been investigating why and how this is possible.

The law on banning (called barring) candidates as a PCC is not the same as the law on councillors.

When we initially asked Wiltshire Council why this was allowed, they told us:

"Wiltshire Council conducts Enhanced DBS Checks for councillors who are in contact with, or receive information about, vulnerable people in our community as part of their role on the council.

 

The DBS Code of Practice stipulates that Registered Bodies, such as the council, should only submit disclosure applications in relation to relevant positions, for that reason it is not considered necessary to undertake a DBS check for all councillors; this approach is typical across councils nationally.

 

Regards,

Democratic Services"

So they admitted that they did not carry out criminal records checks for ALL councillors. Somerset Independents thinks this is wrong, and so do residents. 

So we wrote back to Wiltshire Council:

"Thanks for your response.

Unfortunately, one of your councillors Jonathon Seed, is under
investigation by the Police.

You have confirmed that the policy of the council is to not perform
DBS checks on all councillors.

What DBS checks have you carried out on Cllr Seed, and when?

If you have not carried out any checks, your Council has failed to
protect the public from someone who committed a criminal offence that
disqualifies them from being an elected Police and Crime Commissioner.
This offence would be covered by a Standard DBS check, which you have
confirmed that Wiltshire Council does not carry out.

You have also wrongly asserted that your policy is "typical".
Neighbouring Somerset County Council conducts checks on all
councillors, as do many others such as Ashfield District Council and
Sedgemoor District Council. Which councils are you referring to, when
you say it is "typical" to not carry out DBS checks on all
councillors?

When was the last time that Wiltshire Council considered DBS checks
for all councillors? Please provide links to agenda and minutes.

When was the last time that Wiltshire Council reviewed the policy that
you have described, and which councillors were involved in that
decision if it was not Full Council?

And has your previous response been OK'd by Wiltshire Council's
Monitoring Officer and the Leader of the Council?"

Below is Wiltshire Council's response. You will see that they have not answered our questions properly and fully. They have also made several claims that are untrue. 

What is revealing is that they looked at their policy before the May 2021 elections and chose STILL to not carry out even basic DBS checks, let alone Standard DBS checks, on councillors. But they have not answered our request for agenda and minutes. 

As we pointed out, other councils do the DBS checks, but they do not. 

They are maintaining this policy, even though they KNOW now that Councillor Seed has been disbarred. 

We believe that the vast majority of Wiltshire residents will agree with our campaign for DBS checks for all candidates and all elected representatives. 

Here is Wiltshire Council's attempt to defend the indefensible...

"Good Afternoon,

Thank you for your email. The Police investigation into Jonathan Seed's candidacy for the PCC election is entirely separate and unrelated to his status as a Wiltshire Councillor and therefore the council's DBS policies. On the matter of the PCC election, it is the responsibility of candidates for that Election to confirm they are not disqualified from running, the qualification/disqualification criteria is set in legislation and is not a matter which Wiltshire Council can influence. Wiltshire council is not legally able to run background checks on candidates for any type of election.

The disqualifications for running for local council elections, such as Wiltshire unitary council elections, are set nationally. Under the rules of the Electoral Commission, unless a candidate has a been sentenced to a 3 month+ of imprisonments for a criminal charge during the 5 years before polling day, they may take office.

Wiltshire considers that undertaking Enhanced DBS Checks for councillors (following election) who are in contact with, or receive detailed information about, vulnerable people in our community as part of their role on the council is fair and reasonable. A policy to undertake DBS checks on all councillors is not legally enforceable, and any finding would not prevent a councillor from being in office unless it revealed convictions that met the disqualification criteria referenced above.

The DBS approach to councillors (once elected) was reviewed ahead of the May elections; this is an operational decision. Whilst there are councils that conduct DBS checks for all of their members, it is their discretion to do this. Other councils do not do any DBS checks on elected members for the reason outlined above that previous convictions may not preclude a councillor from taking office. Additionally, in some other councils, councillors will have no direct contact with young or vulnerable people as part of their role.

Whilst your concerns are noted, we hope the information above explains the council's approach and that it has very limited discretion around such matters."