Medway’s Conservative councillors today faced calls for an investigation into the presentation of a ‘fake’ cheque to the Sunlight Centre.

Gillingham and Rainham MP, Paul Clark said councillors acted improperly when they presented a cheque for £50,000 to the Sunlight Centre having just received a Government grant for the same amount, set aside for a specific scheme.

Mr Clark, and Tory Councillor Alan Jarrett, Deputy Leader of Medway Council and Portfolio Holder for Finance were both interviewed about the matter on Radio Kent this morning.

Read the full transcript of the interview below, or Paul's press release calling for an inquiry here.

Radio Kent Transcript
Mon 12 March

7:10 am

John Warnett (presenter): Now the MP for Gillingham, Paul Clark is calling for a Standards Board inquiry into the way Medway council handled a £50,000 Government grant. In September [actually November] three Conservative councillors were photographed by a local paper presenting a £50,000 cheque to the Sunlight centre in Gillingham, which needed the money to plug a hole in its budget.  But the money had already been allocated by the Government to improving parenting in the area. The Sunlight centre has never received any money and in fact Medway Council still hasn’t got the funding. Well, Paul Clark is on the line now. Morning Paul.

Paul Clark MP: Good Morning John

JW: Is your concern that the Sunlight Centre have been promised money that they haven’t got?

PC: Well they’ve been totally duped, totally misled, this is playing on people that work hard for the voluntary sector, work hard at the Sunlight Centre to help some of the most vulnerable in society.

JW: But what do you think the council were up to then?

PC: Well I know exactly what the council were up to. This was a political stunt, disgraceful behaviour by two senior members, I mean this wasn’t, you know, a couple of back-benchers, if I can say that. This was two senior members, Cllr Wicks who’s portfolio holder for Children’s Services and Cllr Purdy who’s portfolio holder for Adult Services. Someone comes along to you and says ‘here’s a £50,000 cheque with no-strings-attached you assume that is exactly what it is. But of course what was happening – and that’s exactly what was said to people at the Sunlight centre – but what was actually happening at the same time was that people like, you know, yourselves in the media, John, and other sources, were being briefed that this was actually money that was being earmarked by the Government for parenting skills. ‘We don’t want anything to do with that’ say these councillors and it’s actually down to the local MP to persuade the Home Secretary to change this and if he doesn’t  that’s why the Sunlight centre…

JW: Ah –so what you’re saying is that they knew what this money should have been spent on but they wanted to spend it elsewhere any they wanted you to square the circle.

PC: They absolutely knew what the money was to be spent on, because in a very clear letter from the Home Office, and the Respect Unit within the Home Office, a letter to the Chief Executive of the council made it very clear what it was for and…

JW: And they’d had that letter by September [actually November] when they delivered this cheque

PC: They had more than in advance by then and they equally knew that because when they put in a bid for the money they put in two different scenarios, Medway Council to the Home office in the hope that one of them would get through. What I understand to be the case, is that certainly at the moment, Medway Council hasn’t got that £50,000 from the Government yet, because it has yet to convince it that it’s serious about anti-social behaviour er and secondly the Sunlight centre still hasn’t got its money and has still got a funding gap for this financial year. And this is an absolute disgrace for those people that have worked hard to create such a vibrant centre and a centre that supports so many people in our society.

JW: How has this come to light?

PC: This has come to, this has been going on, the whole political game about Respect agenda and anti-social behaviour since the sixth October because it was on that very day that I received a telephone call from a well positioned council official to tell me that senior members of staff were not to discuss with me the Respect agenda, the anti-social behaviour agenda in my constituency and secondly to withdraw staff from actually participating in a very sensible programme that I’d agreed with one of the local newspapers to actually have practical advice about how to deal with anti-social behaviour…

JW: What you’re claiming is that Medway council have no interest in the Respect agenda or parenting classes but they wanted the money for something else and that’s what they’ve tried to do. Is that what you’re saying?

PC: I am saying very clearly they certainly have no interest whatsoever in the Respect agenda, that has been made clear by senior councillors. I know that they were advised very clearly by officers and staff not to go down the line of making this false presentation of a £50,000 cheque to the Sunlight centre…

JW: They were told that before they did it?

PC: Absolutely, and I know that there are staff that are being stopped from helping the local community with the anti-social behaviour agenda, because they have contacted me and told me that, but of course they can’t speak out.

JW: Now you’re calling for an inquiry by er… which board?

PC: The Standards Board. The Standards Board.

JW: Is that going to happen how do you…?

PC: Well I know that there are…I could easily make a reference to The Standards Board obviously, but I understand there are a number of people who use the Sunlight Centre who, er local residentswho have gone there who are in fact currently completing forms to go to the Standards Board to make this complaint.

JW: Paul, thanks very much indeed for joining us. That’s Paul Clark the MP for Gillingham. Later in the programme, after 8o’clock, we’ll be speaking t Medway council to get their side of this story. We’ll bring you that just after 8 o’clock.

8:05 am

John Warnett (presenter): Now, there’s been a call for a Standards Board inquiry into the way Medway council handled a £50,000 Government grant. In September [actually November] three Conservative councillors were photographed by a local newspaper presenting a £50,000 cheque to the Sunlight centre in Gillingham, which needed the money to plug a hole in its budget.  But the money had already been allocated by the Government to improving parenting in the area. Labour Mp for Gillingham, Paul Clark told us earlier that not only has the sunlight centre not received the money, Medway council has yet to secure the funding from central government.

[Upsound]

Paul Clark MP: They’ve been totally duped, totally misled, this is playing on people that work hard for the voluntary sector, work hard at the Sunlight Centre to help some of the most vulnerable in society.

JW: But what do you think the council were up to then?

PC: Well I know exactly what the council were up to. This was a political stunt, disgraceful behaviour by two senior members, I mean this wasn’t, you know, a couple of back-benchers, if I can say that, this was two senior members. Someone comes along to you and says ‘here’s a £50,000 cheque with no-strings-attached you assume that is exactly what it is’

[End Upsound}

JW: Well, with me now is Medway council’s deputy Leader and portfolio holder for finance, councillor Alan Jarrett. Hello Alan.

Alan Jarrett: Good morning John, how are you?

JW: I’m very well. Erm…this is not good is it?

AJ: No it’s not good at all, it’s not very good at all. The government have refused to allow any flexibility with the use of this £50,000 as we speak and that’s a very poor show indeed.

JW: So why did you hand it over before you’d secured the funding?

AJ: Well, as you said in your previous interview, which I listened to, it was a symbolic cheque. The money was allocated by the Government for what they call a Supernanny which to me is another government gimmick that we see an endless stream of  - a supernanny to aid parenting and we said to the Government ‘well actually parenting is a major part of the function at the Sunlight Centre can we use the Supernanny money for parenting at the Sunlight Centre?’

JW: and they said: ‘No’

AJ: Hmm?

JW: And they said: ‘No’

AJ: They said ‘no’

JW: So why did you did you hand it out then if they told you ‘no’?

AJ: Well of course that was all a matter of timing wasn’t it? We were asking them at the time when the symbolic cheque was handed over…

JW: Yes but as I understood it a senior council official who told Paul Clark this told the politicians that they couldn’t do this, they couldn’t use the money for this

AJ: Well you understand that from Paul Clark , your interview with Paul Clark this morning, I see no evidence to suggest that at all.

JW: But if there were evidence…

AJ: That’s just Paul Clark saying that on your radio station

JW: But if there were evidence to suggest that the politicians had been warned, beforehand that they couldn’t use the money for this, then it would be a disgraceful piece of politking wouldn’t it, to then hand over the cheque knowing you couldn’t pay for it.

AJ: Possibly but…

JW: Well no, it would be wouldn’t it let’s be honest

AJ: Pardon?

JW: It would be wouldn’t it, if they knew they couldn’t use it for that and then they deliberately handed over to make a political point or to get some good publicity, that would be appalling wouldn’t it?

AJ: My understanding is that they weren’t told that at all and that was at a time that we were actually asking the Government if we could use the so-called Supernanny money is was allocated for parenting, for parenting and it’s all rather bizarre. I think the reason they won’t allow it to be used for anything but the Suppernanny is because the Supernanny is a rather nice sounding gimmick.

JW: But it is their money to be fair. If they give you money for a specific thing, it’s not for you to say well we’d rather use it for something else is it?

AJ: John they’ve allocated the money for parenting, we’ve said we want to use the money for parenting. What is the problem with that – I do not see the problem with that

JW: well there obviously is because they’re not going to give you the money are they? So what are you going to do about the Sunlight Centre then, who you promised £50,000 to and they still haven’t had it?

AJ: Well, one way or another the council will help the Sunlight centre which is short of money incidentally, Paul Clark didn’t mention, because of the gap created by the withdrawal of lottery funding. They were previously part-funded by lottery funding so maybe, you know, so maybe next time Paul Clark’s on you can ask him how the gap originally arose.

JW: Well of course, lottery funding is not handled by the Government is it?

AJ: Well, so they say, so they say.

JW: So they will get their money then, is that what you’re telling me Alan, you’re gonna pay…

AJ: One way or another, what’s happening at the moment John, we are trying to, we’re still trying to persuade the government to allow us to use parenting money for parenting and not for some cheap government gimmick erm if that fails then one way or another we will find the money to bridge that gap at the Sunlight Centre

JW: Have you learned a lesson her, do you think, that it’s better not to hand over money until you’ve got it?

AJ: I think the lesson we’ve learned is that we will, we will not be party to government gimmicks and I heard Paul Clark complaining earlier about the fact that we’re not signed up to Respect agenda which is another government gimmick and we actually have, we have documentary evidence from the Labour Party saying how they can use the Respect agenda against councils that aren’t run by Lib Dem or erm, that aren’t run, that aren’t run by the Labour party.

JW: But Alan, surely the bottom line is if the government says here is some money to spend specifically on this item, whether you agree with that item or not, if you don’t agree with it, don’t ask for the money. If you do agree with it, ask for the money and a spend it where you’re told to. Isn’t that fair?

AJ: No it’s not fair, it’s not fair

JW: well don’t ask for the money then

AJ: We didn’t ask for it, it was offered to us. We said ‘fine thatnk you very much, we’ll have that and spend it on parenting at the Sunlight Centre. Now the government is either in favour of parenting or and in favour of anti-social behaviour or it’s not. If it’s actually in favour of funding cheap election gimmicks then fine, why don’e they have the nerve to say so.

JW: Mmm. So you won’t be applying for any more money then, where it’s tied to a specific thing that you don’t agree with.

AJ: I think the answer to that question is we will continue to apply for money where it benefits the people of Medway but we will not play silly political games at the Government’s behest. The whole respect agenda is about playing political games with people’s lives.

JW: Okay, Alan thank you very much indeed. We’ll wait to see what happens at the sunlight centre and elsewhere. That’s Alan Jarrett, Deputy Leader of Medway council responding to what Gillingham MP Paul Clark said earlier.