A PAIR of Brentwood councillors have failed to register a single problem on behalf of the people who voted for them since May last year.

Tory Alan Braid and independent Roger Keeble, elected to represent close to 3,500 people each in both Hutton Central and Tipps Cross respectively, have never recorded an inquiry through the internet-based Members' Portal they were ordered to use in 2010.

The news that Messrs Braid and Keeble are just two of 15 elected representatives to have logged less than one inquiry per month with council officers will no doubt anger taxpayers who collectively pay £288,000 a year for councillors' allowances.

Last month the Gazette was chastised by a handful of 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 largely meaningless without taking into account the amount of casework carried out, even though at the time, council officers refused to pass these details on.

It is only after a request under the Freedom of Information Act that figures revealing each councillor's casework have come to light.

The data, when combined with attendance figures and speech times, all published by the Gazette this year – provides the most comprehensive insight into the contribution of Brentwood councillors to date.

Despite this, council leader Louise McKinlay says there is more councillors do which can never be monitored.

Mrs McKinlay, who has logged 32 pieces of casework since May, said: "A councillor's role involves a range of tasks including resolving residents' issues. It is not fair to suggest a councillor is not managing the same workload based solely on the amount of logged casework.

"Not all members have access to e-mails or the internet and in some cases, a member speaks directly to people in face-to-face conversations or over the telephone. These channels of communication cannot be logged.

"In addition, the work in each ward varies a great deal depending on the issues being faced in a particular area at a particular time.

"Sometimes casework may be dealt with in meetings but tagged on to an agenda last minute and again there would not be a record of it."

Speaking to the Gazette last week, both Mr Braid and Mr Keeble claimed they do a lot of casework but admit to not using the portal or e-mails to log them.

This is despite the council setting a rule at a meeting of the policy, performance and resources board, chaired by Mrs McKinlay, in January 2011 that all members would use the system to ensure residents' issues are dealt with equitably and efficiently.

When combined with the total minutes spoken by elected representatives, the picture is bleak for Mr Braid, who has spoken in each meeting for just 30 seconds on average since July last year.

This council year he will claim an allowance of £5,950.80.

Despite a policy that councillors must use the members' inquiry system to ensure their queries are effectively prioritised, Mr Braid told the Gazette he isn't in favour of having his casework logged.

When asked, he was not able to remember how many items of casework he has carried out over the past nine months.

He said: "The facts and figures come out at election time when you look at the number of people who vote.

"They vote for the people they know, the councillors they know they can rely on.

"I live in my world, people know where I live if they need me.

"As councillors we do not resolve problems, we are transmitters and I am a great believer in face to face.

"But I do not keep scores, I deal with things on a day-to-day basis. If people ring me, cannot get hold of me but leave a telephone number, I get back in touch with them straight away."

Mr Braid also said the amount of casework depends on the area and the residents of Hutton Central do not raise many problems because it is a residential area with no "major developments".

His Hutton Central ward colleague, Jean McGinley, has logged four pieces of casework since May.

Mr Keeble also said there is no record available of his casework, which he believed to be around five inquiries a week.

A rate of five per week would see him shoot up the list to become the busiest councillor in Brentwood with 63 per cent more cases than Mike Le Surf, who is top of the tree with 110.

Mr Keeble said: "I do everything on the telephone which makes a bit of a mockery of your report.

"I am very busy but I have not got a computer at the shop.

"You are probably looking at five each week and it will be a range of issues like planning, environment, housing.

"I deal with cases immediately, I get on the case and deal with it because that is the way I am." The casework records show that Conservative councillors, on average, have raised 14 jobs each over nine months compared to 38 for the Lib Dems and 110 for the borough's sole Labour member, Mr Le Surf (Brentwood South).

Mr Le Surf said it was important that inquiries were logged through the members' portal for the residents' sake.

"At a training session last year Alan Braid said 'people know where I am if they need me'.

"Well what about the people who cannot get out of their front door to get to him? The whole thing about members' casework was to sort out the situation of he who shouts loudest getting inquiries dealt with first."

He also said he was surprised at he gap between top and bottom.

"Put yourself out there and you will be busy," he added.

Conservative councillor for Warley William Lloyd, who has logged 61 problems for residents since last year, said if people are not using the system it means it is difficult to understand the extent of the borough's problems.

He added: "I think the biggest thing is it makes it a level playing field for everyone, so that matters are dealt with based on the importance of the inquiry.

"Also we are tracking ourselves doing it. I want to take it further so that members can track other queries coming in."