THE Lib Dem leader of Waverley Borough Council has denied that a reshuffle of its decision-making executive was affected by the suspension of one it its leading portfolio holders from Farnham Town Council. Victor Scrivens, Waverley portfolio holder for housing until this week, was found guilty of breaching the town council's code of conduct by the Standards Panel or England and suspended from Farnham Town Council for four months last December. Local Tories including David Harmer, the leader of the Waverley Borough Council Conservative group, called for him to be sacked from the cabinet and stand down from the council while others believed he should consider his future as a borough and Farnham town councillor. This week it was announced that Mr Scrivens will move from his high-profile post to take on the portfolio for environment, with Ken Reed taking over the portfolio for housing and procurement The changes, said the leader of Waverley Chris Slyfield, "had nothing whatsoever to do with Mr Scriven's suspension from Farnham Town Council. "Vic Scrivens has worked very hard and diligently on housing with boundless energy and at the end of the day he just wanted to do something else," stressed Mr Slyfield. "He wanted to put his energies into the environment having brought housing to a democratic conclusion," he said, referring to the possible transfer of Waverley's housing stock to a Waverley-created housing association. And he hit back at what he branded "cheap political pot shots" by Mr Harmer over comments made by him following Mr Scrivens' suspension. "I find the way the Conservatives and their leadership approached that distasteful and I stood up and said so. Under no circumstances will will be told what to do, although there is now no overall control, we are still the largest party by one," declared Mr Slyfield. Mr Harmer told The Herald he was "quite surprised" by the changes. "I had regarded the matter as closed. "Putting Ken Reed in charge of housing is good news for tenants. He made his position clear and voted for stock transfer," said Mr Harmer. The reshuffle was brought about after a decision by Mayor of Waverley Victor Ducket to ditch the party and the Lib Dem group and become an independent, leaving the party in turmoil with the balance of power in the hands of just two independents. Farnham Town Council this week was forced to elect a replacement vice-chairman of its environmental services committee during Mr Scrivens' suspension. Mr Scrivens' post as chairman of Surrey County Association of Parish and Town Council has been handed over to his substitute Mark Norris during his time out of office. Mr Scrivens told The Herald that he was delighted with his new role. He said he was "quite proud" of the work he had achieved but "it was time to move on." The portfolio responsibilities for the executive are: Chris Slyfield (leader) - corporate strategy; Gillian Ferguson (deputy leader) - parishes, partnerships and local economy; Michael Allan - implementing e-government; Stewart Edge - finance, human resources and best value; Byron Grainger-Jones - leisure, culture and tourism; Chris Mansell - East Street and property management; Ken Reed- housing and procurement; John Robini - community, youth and car parks; Celia Savage - planning and major projects; Victor Scrivens - environment.
