FULL COUNCIL TOMORROW - LABOUR PRESS RELEASE

LABOUR IN BID TO MAKE COUNCIL SCRUTINY INCLUSIVE

Labour councillors will make another attempt at this Wednesday’s Full Council meeting to gain independence for the Scrutiny Committee over meeting times. They will also endeavour to make meeting times more inclusive and accessible for all members of the public.

After the Conservative leadership at the July Council meeting forced the so-called ‘opposition lead’ Scrutiny Committee to meet at 6pm in the evening, all but one of the opposition members resigned as this was contrary to the principle of ‘opposition control’ – previously much trumpeted by the new Council leadership. A majority of opposition members and the Conservative members of the original committee had preferred to meet at 4pm, but the leadership would not allow this.

This Wednesday Labour Councillors Gardiner & Lumley, will propose an amendment to the proposed new arrangements for a re-established Scrutiny Committee. These new arrangements allow for a smaller committee with membership given to two members of the public and one representative of town & parish councils, as well as Cllr Garry Price (LibDem) and three Conservative councillors. The amendment will call for meeting times to be rotated between 10am, 4pm and 6pm each month.

Labour Group Leader Cllr Deborah Gardiner said, “We are proposing this amendment because we want to make the Scrutiny Committee – which examines the decisions made by the Council leadership – accessible to all Islanders at least once a quarter. 6pm may suit those who work 9-5 and can then easily go along to a Council meeting if interested. However, it does not suit people who do not work the traditional working day, or who may have childcare or other caring responsibilities. 6pm is just the time when parents with young children are either feeding the family, settling them down for the evening, or ensuring that homework is undertaken. A time when vulnerable adults need their carers. We believe that our amendment demonstrates a commitment to inclusiveness not shown by the leadership’s intransigence over meeting times. “

Cllr Geoff Lumley added, “If our eminently reasonable amendment is voted down by the Conservative majority, then we may find that the Council still does not have a Scrutiny Committee, as the new arrangements depend on unanimous all-member support. Although we accept that a Scrutiny Committee can now only be established without most of the opposition members, after the July resignations, we feel that the issues of scrutiny independence and meeting times are still of importance to the effectiveness and relevance of local government here on the Island.”