Recently we highlighted the plans that Ipswich Borough Council (lead by a Tory/Lib Dem coalition) were considering selling off the municipally owned bus company Ipswich Buses Ltd. This decision was taken behind closed doors, in spite of the principles of transparency espoused by Cameron. It is a shame that when the Tories are in power in a local government context they do not seem to share their leader’s passion when it comes to transparency and the decentralisation of power.
In July 2009 Havant Borough Council Strategy and Regeneration Board, a scrutiny board set up to make recommendations to the executive, published their recommendations on the continued use of Capita for the delivery of revenues and benefits services (their contract running out in 2013). The recommendation rejected the extension of Capita’s contract, calling for the Council to consider alternative options such as a shared provision of customer services with Hampshire County Council. Although scrutiny committee recommendations are not binding they should surely hold some weight, they are a cross party group and in this instance the scrutiny committee was chaired by a Tory (Cllr Gwen Blackett).
However the executive of the council decided to ignore the committee’s recommendation and put the eight-year extension of Capita’s contract to a vote at a full council meeting. Not only did the executive undermine the scrutiny board, a key democratic tool that aims to hold the executive to account, they then excluded the public from the debates. This debate wasn’t an uncontroversial one: a petition calling for the council to hold public consultation on the contract garnered over 900 signatures.
Once again the Tories show that in spite of Cameron’s rhetoric when push comes to shove they will hold commercial interest above democratic accountability. If your local council is in the habit of excluding the public then let us know, you can send any tip-offs or suggestions for Tory stories to info@torystories.com.
