QUESTIONS about how hard some Tory politicians are working have been raised after figures showed that five of them have not registered a single piece of casework all year.
The stats show that Brentwood Borough Councillors Noelle Hones, Roger McCheyne, Alan Braid, Madeline Henwood, Claire Cornell have not provided assistance to any residents between January 1 and July 31 – although they all say they have circumnavigated the system for reporting casework.
As if this were not bad enough, the bottom 12 are all Conservatives too.
According to the council, when members circumnavigate the reporting system and go direct to officers for help the officers then record this information on behalf of the councillors.
Each elected member receives a basic allowance of £5,950.80 a year to compensate them for the expenses they incur.
Senior councillors can top this figure up significantly with so-called special responsibility allowances.
Cllr Hones said: "I tend to go straight to officers to register the casework.
"It's hard to say – something crops up most weeks – but I would say I spend about two or three hours a week on something.
"Because I'm at the town hall quite a lot anyway and I have a good relationship with the officer I think it is just much more efficient if we go straight to them."
Cllr Braid said he probably does at least one piece of casework each week, but as he does not have a computer he has to bypass the system.
"I don't have a computer – I go straight to the town hall," he said.
"A huge number of residents, not just the elderly but also young people don't have a computer.
"I've lived here for more than 40 years and I've been a councillor for 22 years. My door is always open and people know where I live.
"People can phone me anytime and I will respond immediately."
Cllr McCheyne, who represents Brizes and Doddinghurst, said: "I go straight to the officers in the town hall or get them on the phone – I'm dyslexic so using the computer is difficult for me and it is much easier to go straight to the officer to discuss the case."
Cllr Cornell said: "I wouldn't know without referring back to my notes, but I work alongside my colleagues and tend to go straight to council officers at the town hall."
Meanwhile, deputy mayor Cllr Henwood, who represents Tipps Cross, said she has registered one piece of casework this month.
She said: "I usually don't register because most of it is verbal and I give advice and that is the same for the officer – I go straight to them.
"Most of this can be sorted be sorted out with a phone call but the register is ridiculous – it creates more work for us
"Not a great deal goes on here. I think there are more problems going on in Brentwood – it's a very quiet and peaceful place here."
William Lloyd, the leader of Brentwood First, came out on top with 155 pieces of casework.
The Warley councillor said: "It is no surprise that they are saying we are going straight to the officer.
"That is fine, but that is not what we are meant to be doing.
"By all means flag it up with a follow-up phone call, but there is no point in the administration setting up the system if two-thirds don't use it effectively.
"If they don't like the figures that come out of it, then that's tough.
"I'm not saying that Louise McKinlay doesn't work hard, but she has some very big questions about her group and the work they do.
"The fact is we don't know how much they do, because they are not using the system."
The problem has worsened since the Gazette last investigated the amount of casework councillors put through 18 months ago
Then it was just Cllr Braid and independent Roger Keeble, elected to represent Hutton Central and Tipps Cross respectively, who never recorded an inquiry through the internet-based Members' Portal they were told to use in 2010.
Last year the Gazette was chastised by some members and their supporters for highlighting the length of time each councillor spoke during council meetings in the last six months.
They claimed the figure was meaningless without taking into account the amount of casework carried out, even though at the time, council officers refused to pass these details on.
Council leader Louise McKinlay, who represents Hutton North, suggested some opposition members overinflated their casework figures.
She said: "There are councillors in other parties who register every time they speak to an council officer on any subject and these may not have anything to do with casework at all.
"There are a number who, as part of the administration, have a lot of the information at their fingertips because they know lots of what is going on already."
Mrs McKinlay logged 43 pieces of casework between January 1 and July 31, the most out of all the Tory councillors.
However, she said: "Whether it is 43 or 47 or whatever number, if the councillor has got the issue sorted then that is the main thing.
"There is more to this than just numbers.
"People also have to remember that there is work that councillors do which never is talked about or never seen."
Minority Labour group leader Mike Le-Surf, who represents Brentwood South, came fifth with 66 pieces of casework.
"Numbers are not everything but they are a good indicator of how hard a councillor works," he said.
"The system is there so the council can get a good idea about what problems are there.
"Is the leader happy that 12 of her councillors are in the bottom 12 and five haven't registered anything at all?
"I'm delighted that me and Julie (his wife and fellow Labour councillor) are in the top five, and I would not be happy if I was the bottom.
"Some councillors seem to think that the main part of the job is putting their hands up in the chamber when their leader tells them to but casework is a major part of what we do."
Lib Dem Karen Chilvers, who came second with 146 pieces of work in her Brentwood West ward, said: "If her members were in the top five she would be taking a different view.
"It's not about what you know, it's about doing case work for real people, following it up and picking it up.
"It's about being accessible
"I am pleased to be second, but why are 12 of them seemingly not picking anything up."
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