Who turns up, and who doesn't

To say I was less than keen on councillor attendances being recorded understates it; see Councillor attendance in Southend-on-Sea; a six-month snapshot.

It is not that I have anything to hide. Despite my tough year I have still managed a respectable record in this regard.

Here is a table showing attendances for all who currently sit in the chamber. Of course there is a story behind the various records, and my own absences can be attributed to ill health, and in one instance a diary mishap.

To explain a little: 

'Expected' is the number of meetings of committees etc that you are a member of. Whilst no meeting is mandatory, if you are on a committee you ought to be there.

'Present' show when a councillor actually turned up.

'In attendance' shows when a councillor turned to meetings that they where not formally a member of. Some turn up loads.

I have colour coded the councillor names to show party allegiance.

 This data comes from the Southend-on-Sea Borough Council website.

	Expected	Present	In attendance	Total attended	% Present
Councillor Bernard Arscott	53	53	12	65	100.0%
Councillor Ron Woodley	36	36	13	49	100.0%
Councillor David Burzotta	16	16	0	16	100.0%
Councillor Lesley Salter	46	45	17	62	97.8%
Councillor Ian Gilbert	33	32	8	40	97.0%
Councillor Chris Walker	57	55	4	59	96.5%
Councillor Carole Mulroney	50	48	28	76	96.0%
Councillor Anne Jones	43	41	5	46	95.3%
Councillor Nigel Folkard	63	60	4	64	95.2%
Councillor James Moyies	37	35	9	44	94.6%
Councillor Alex Bright	17	16	0	16	94.1%
Councillor Derek Jarvis	32	30	3	33	93.8%
Councillor Helen McDonald	16	15	2	17	93.8%
Councillor Tony Cox	45	42	8	50	93.3%
Councillor Julian Ware-Lane	43	40	6	46	93.0%
Councillor Jonathan Garston	57	53	11	64	93.0%
Councillor Helen Boyd	14	13	0	13	92.9%
Councillor Meg Davidson	39	36	6	42	92.3%
Councillor Cheryl Nevin	39	36	3	39	92.3%
Councillor James Courtenay	38	35	6	41	92.1%
Councillor Andrew Moring	25	23	2	25	92.0%
Councillor Fay Evans	62	57	1	58	91.9%
Councillor Maureen Butler	58	53	6	59	91.4%
Councillor Steve Buckley	46	42	10	52	91.3%
Councillor David McGlone	56	51	1	52	91.1%
Councillor Judith McMahon	43	39	6	45	90.7%
Councillor David Norman MBE	43	39	5	44	90.7%
Councillor Mike Assenheim	63	57	25	82	90.5%
Councillor Caroline Endersby	31	28	0	28	90.3%
Councillor Kevin Robinson	40	36	0	36	90.0%
Councillor Roger Hadley	58	52	4	56	89.7%
Councillor Ann Holland	35	31	6	37	88.6%
Councillor Trevor Byford	50	44	6	50	88.0%
Councillor Floyd Waterworth	33	29	2	31	87.9%
Councillor John Lamb	45	39	21	60	86.7%
Councillor Stephen Habermel	36	31	10	41	86.1%
Councillor Brian Ayling	70	60	3	63	85.7%
Councillor Georgina Phillips	42	36	2	38	85.7%
Councillor Derek Kenyon	47	40	0	40	85.1%
Councillor Stephen Aylen	24	20	17	37	83.3%
Councillor Charles Willis	38	31	2	33	81.6%
Councillor Margaret Borton	65	53	5	58	81.5%
Councillor David Garston	58	45	4	49	77.6%
Councillor Nick Ward	31	24	5	29	77.4%
Councillor Mark Flewitt	38	29	10	39	76.3%
Councillor Paul Van Looy	42	32	2	34	76.2%
Councillor Tino Callaghan	68	51	6	57	75.0%
Councillor Martin Terry	40	30	12	42	75.0%
Councillor Lawrence Davies	34	24	2	26	70.6%
Councillor Mike Stafford	43	30	4	34	69.8%
Councillor Peter Wexham	18	11	3	14	61.1%

Dog waste bins not being emptied

Chalkwell Park today

I have heard a couple of reports recently of overfull and unemptied dog waste bins. Today I spotted an example for myself, in Chalkwell Park.

This is dispiriting. Dog waste on pavements etc is an all too frequent complaint from residents. I try to encourage all dog owners to be responsible, and often point out where dogs are sited. I have even been responsible for new dog bins being place in Milton ward.

How can we encourage responsible dog ownership if dog bins are not being emptied often enough?

The Conservative-UKIP coalition in Southend-on-Sea has seen a number of waste disposal problems on its watch - this is another sorry chapter in that sad story.