Political chaos erupted once again in Bergen after a seven-year-old boy was found bound and abused and serious failures in the child protection service were discovered.
Thursday evening the majority of the city council announced that it will present a motion of no confidence against Roger Valhammer (Ap).
For the majority, 34 representatives are needed, on Thursday evening the number had become 37. Here is how the votes are distributed in the Bergen city council:
Right: 14
The Popular Party: 8
Sp: 5
Independent: 4
Red: 3
KrF: 2
FRP: 1
Failed in the most fundamental way
The right-wing city council group went in unison this evening to promote a vote of no confidence in city councilor Valhammer.
– Bergen municipality has failed at the most fundamental thing: protecting children in Bergen, Conservative Party group leader Charlotte Spurkeland tells TV 2.
DISTRUST: Charlotte Spurkeland, leader of the Conservative Party, has no faith in Valhammer. Photo: Pål Sørum Schaathun / TV 2
More distrust warnings
The censorship drama began on Tuesday when Bergen SV announced it would file a censorship motion against social council Katrine Nødtvedt (MGD).
The next day, Folkets Parti (formerly FNB) announced that they had no faith in the head of the city council. Frp, Sp, KrF and Rødt also concluded tonight that they did not trust the head of the city council.
– This means we direct the no-confidence motion against the entire Valhammer city council, says FRP group leader Marte Monstad for television 2.
– Valhammer has had many years to act, but he has been passive. I’m not sure this city council is able to offer Bergen’s vulnerable children the protection they should have, says Mars Monstad (FRP). Photo: Isac Skjevik Kvello / TV 2
TV 2 failed to get a comment from Roger Valhammer.
– We wondered why one didn’t take responsibility earlier, says Anne Brit Reigstad in Center Party on TV 2.
He says the group thinks it was too late to present a list of improvement measures now.
– Therefore, we no longer have confidence that Valhammer can have this leadership responsibility, says Reigstad.
An abused seven-year-old boy
– It is impossible to read it without a stomach ache. Whether he read it as a city councilor or a father.
This is how Roger Valhammer started his report from the city council the group leaders on Tuesday morning.
City council leader Roger Valhammer in Bergen apologized after the state administrator revealed serious deficiencies in the child protection agency’s follow-up to, among other things, a seven-year-old boy. Photo: Isac Skjevik Kvello / TV 2
– It’s not just about a report, a detour or an inspection. It is a seven-year-old boy who was tied up by his father. A violent father.
On 7 August the police found the boy mistreated and tied up to a bed. The father is now incarcerated and charged with abuse.
32 days before the police operation, the same father had reported to the protection of minors.
The boy is one of the children the State Trustee supervised this year. Reports revealed serious shortcomings and serious failures on the part of childcare services.
Someone has to be held accountable
Reports also claim that if child care services had done what they should have done, the cases could have been avoided.
Valhammer apologized to the children in the deepest sense. A crisis team has been formed and the city council is putting in place a series of emergency measures.
– Should have been caught first and someone should have helped you. I promise we will do everything we can so that no one else will experience what you did, Valhammer said on Tuesday.
But the group leaders of the city council were not impressed. Someone had to be held responsible for the fact that two children nearly died under the supervision of the city council.
Leave the responsibility to the cultural and social council
It is not the first time that the protection of minors in Bergen has been punished for serious breach.
A 2020 report determined that proceedings in the childcare system were too bad in nine out of ten cases examined. Employees are leaving and turnover is high. The last two reports from the Statsforvalteren revealed a number of crimes.
Over the past six years, seven different city councils have been responsible for the protection of minors.
There is also major disagreement over Valhammer’s decision to entrust the responsibility of child protection to the Katrine Nødtvedt City Council for Culture, Diversity and Equality (MDG).
Social Councilor Katrine Nødtvedt (MDG) is responsible for childcare services in Bergen. While SV announced mistrust of her, Folkets Parti said the mistrust belongs to city councilor Valhammer. Photo: Isac Skjevik Kvello / TV 2
– We believe that Valhammer did not take the leadership responsibility he should have assumed, Popular Party group leader Cesilie Tveit told TV 2 on Wednesday.
Pointing to Valhammer
– City council leader misjudged the composition of city council positions, where a separate social council position was recently removed at a critical juncture, says Tveit.
The party is the third largest party in the city council, it agrees to place “mistrust in its place”: on the city councilor Valhammer.
– There has been a significant turnover of city councilors responsible for the protection of minors. This role play made cleaning work difficult and the ultimate responsibility for this rests with the leader of the city council.
