Cllr Warner: lead member for what exactly?
At council yesterday I asked Labour’s lead councillor for ‘Culture and Sport’ what level of losses would be deemed acceptable for the Proms in the Park and the Ice Rink, which between them have cost the tax-payer many hundreds of thousands of pounds.
His response was to say that none of the items on a recently published list of cultural and sporting activities ‘are anything to do with him’. They are all part of the Chief Executive’s programme of events.
I’ve just now seen an email in which the same member responds to question from another councillor asking about the new Community Sports Stadium where he says that that too is under the Chief Exec and not him, and that he has ‘not had any involvement in this project’.
Here’s a list of things that the Lead Member for Culture and Sport (paid £23,320 last year) has nothing to do with and no involvement in:
- Salford Community Stadium – sports stadium which will host the Salford Reds rugby team
- Zapcat Racing: proposed opening City Championship catamaran powerboat race.
- Great Salford Swim: large scale mass participation open water swim.
- Salford 10k Run: 10k run for up to 500 competitors around The Quays.
- Proms in the Park: an 8,000 capacity Proms in the Park event with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and a headline act
- Salford Music Festival: one day outdoor music event in Buile Hill Park as part of a bigger music festival and to be delivered in conjunction with the Proms event.
- Salford Food and Drink Festival: Food Fayre to be held on the Civic Centre lawns as the opening and main highlight event of the sixth festival which will run at various venues across the city
- Bonfire Night Events: annual large-scale traditional bonfire and firework shows at Buile Hill and Prince’s Park, Irlam.
- Salford Film Festival: Annual film festival
- Slave: World premier play to be held at The Lowry and produced by a local theatre company profiling the true story of a girl kidnapped in Sudan and forced to live as a slave in the 1990s.
- Ice rink: Ice rink to run during December and the early New Year period
Just what is Cllr. Warner being paid to do, because from where I’m sitting it looks like absolutely nothing? It’s about time he justified his councillor’s allowance.
Edit: I’ve just looked through last year’s cabinet work plan and there are zero mentions in it of culture, sport, or leisure. The picture gets worse.