WHEN I heard that the first action of the new Leader of the Council, Cllr Peter Amos, was to increase the number of Cabinet members and thus the cost of Cabinet to the taxpayer, my heart sank. However, at the full council meeting on October 1, Cllr Hogan's motion that it would be inappropriate to increase the total cost of Cabinet (currently £45,100 I understand) was carried with a good majority, probably because members felt that an increase would be difficult to explain to the public. Not only should the public look to the council for public services, it should be able to look up to it for public service and this motion, which will result in a small decrease in the proposed allowances for the Leader and Deputy Leader, is a good example of restraint.
There is some further encouragement under the new leadership. Cllr Amos has announced that there is to be half an hour allowed at each Cabinet meeting for public questioning of the Cabinet, not limited to the agenda for that meeting but on any subject. Also, the appointment of a new chief executive is to be put on hold for the time being as this will ensure a substantial saving in salary, National Insurance and pension rights. These are both changes for which I have asked for many months. The right to question Cabinet is a great advance in the interaction of our local council and the public, although, sadly, a date for this new initiative has not yet been set. Once it is, it will be up to us, the local population, to grasp this opportunity and question the decision-makers. At least in this way we can hear the reasoning behind decisions, even if we do not agree with them. What is needed now is a high turn-out of members of the public for Cabinet meetings and some searching questions.
Once Cabinet can be interrogated it will make questioning of the two scrutiny committees irrelevant, as they are not decision-makers and can only advise. There is also the frustration here of the necessity to link any question to the agenda, only to have the it refused at the whim of the chairman. As my recent question on the loan made by FODDC to the Community Interest Company was blocked in this way I discovered the information under the Freedom of Information Act. It makes interesting reading. A total of £26,574 has been paid from the £30,000 loan agreed for 'costs relating to support for the interim governance structure and the set up, registration, support and preparation of the strategic business plan of the Community Interest Company.'
This indicates that this Company has achieved nothing so far apart from incurring debts. It is to be hoped that no more loans will be forthcoming and that this money will, eventually, be repaid, although it is difficult to see how this can be achieved. As I now have the information I requested Corporate Scrutiny also achieved nothing by refusing to answer. Regarding costs incurred council was further advised that the complaint against Cllr Preest has cost £1,576. With all these expenses, no wonder the financial forecast has had to be withdrawn, as the overspend is known to exceed that expected. A new forecast will be presented to Cabinet on October 8.
There is always more to be done. One assumes that Cabinet will have received a copy of a recent letter from Caroline Spelman MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in which she pledges that 'a Conservative government will abolish the bureaucratic and undemocratic tier of regional planning. This will include the abolition of the Regional Spatial Strategies (RSS) and the Regional Planning Bodies, the abolition of national and regional building targets as well as the cancellation of the Labour Government's plans to move the regional and planning powers to Regional Development Agencies and Regional Leaders' Boards'.
In view of this it would appear sensible, that as a General Election cannot be delayed beyond seven months, for the council to do what it does best - procrastinate - at least in all matters relating to planning policies imposed by regional planning bodies. With a bit of luck they may soon be swept away. – Daphne Pearson, PS; My grateful thanks to the people who so kindly wrote in my support recently and for the many messages I have received.