MP slams Calderdale's new Reform council bid to axe three scrutiny boards
One of Calderdale’s MPs has lambasted a bid by Calderdale’s new Reform council to get rid of three of the four boards which scrutinise councillors’ decisions.
Calder Valley MP Josh Fenton-Glynn says the plan, revealed by the Courier earlier this week, shows the party is “scared of its own members looking at the work they are doing”.
The Labour MP, who was a Calderdale councillor for nine years, said scrutiny committees make policy better.
"Democracy is an ongoing process and part of that ongoing process is being able to hold power to account,” he told the Courier.
“Reform have a majority, they would have a majority on every scrutiny board. The fact that they’re scared of their own members looking at the work that they’re doing shows either that they don’t think their members should be prepared to put in the work that an ordinary councillor does now or that they’re just scared of the public seeing what they do.
"Frankly, I think that Calderdale voters, when they voted for Reform, expected an accountable leadership.
"While I can hold them as accountable as I can from my position, I hope they will allow councillors from their party and others to have a voice as well.”
The Courier revealed earlier this week that councillors will be asked at Calderdale Council’s annual general meeting on Wednesday, May 20, to agree to having only one overall scrutiny committee.
Council scrutiny boards act as watchdogs. They can call-in decisions made by the cabinet, monitor the authority’s performance and hold detailed reviews of local issues.
The call-ins allows scrutiny members to halt a decision and have it re-considered.
Calderdale Council currently has three specialised scrutiny boards – Adults, Health and Social Care; Children and Young People; and Place – as well as an overall board – Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
All hold regular meetings which are open to the public and press.
There are nine councillors on each of the four scrutiny boards, and the Children and Young People Board also has a number of co-opted independent members.
Members of Calderdale Council, now run by Reform after the party won the most seats at the elections, is being recommended to move to a new method of scrutiny, where there would be only one board – the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (OSC).
According to papers drawn up for a decision at the meeting, this would be “the sole scrutiny board with responsibility for coordinating and managing all scrutiny in Calderdale with a membership of nine councillors”.
The papers say: “The OSC is a formal place for members to co-ordinate the work of overview and scrutiny.
"The chair speaks for overview and scrutiny within the council. It delivers council-wide scrutiny. It should be where the scrutiny work programme is developed and identify suitable topics for detailed review.”
Instead of board meetings, which are open to the public and press, the papers say “effective scrutiny” should be delivered via “detailed reviews, workshops and member-led reports”.
On its Facebook page, Calderdale Reform has said its new leader Councillor Daniel Sutherland had met with the council’s CEO, Robin Tuddenham, and one of the key points discussed was “putting a stop to pointless committees and focus on taking action”.
It has also claimed it is bringing in a council “built on transparency, accountability, and action”.
Labour group leader Adam Wilkinson has also criticised the plan, posting on social media: “And so it begins. Just days in office, and what are Reform’s first actions? To try and stop people asking questions about their work. To take decisions behind closed doors. To reduce accountability.
"We shouldn’t be surprised, but this is no way to run a council. And it’s not in the best interests of people across Calderdale.”
And Green Party leader Martin Hey said: “This is clearly an attempt to consolidate power in the hands of a few, in order to silence dissenting points of view and stand in the way of scrutiny of their decisions.
"Ensuring that our money is spent well and that the people and places we love are protected, is not a ‘pointless committee’, it is taking the time to take care of all that we hold dear.’
"Reform is sending a very clear message that no other opinions are allowed and that the protections that those in most need rely on will be taken away simply because Reform councillors cannot be bothered to put in the hard work required to govern across party.”