Secrecy at County Hall!

12.13.44pm GMT Mon 9th Nov 2009

Papers going to Somerset County Council's meeting on 11th November will deny the Liberal Democrat, Labour and Conservative backbench councillors access to any information which the Leader and his cabinet would rather keep secret.

To date, all councillors have been entitled to access information provided by officers and decisions agreed by whichever group was in power.

This has enabled them to perform the role of an effective opposition and keep a close eye on matters which affect the people they represent.

The loss of the council's scrutiny sub-committees mean that there is no longer any public scrutiny of important matters such as health and community safety. This just makes a bad situation worse.

Sam Crabb, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats on the County Council said of the paper:

"This week Ken Maddock and his Cabinet warned the staff of poorer employment conditions and reduced pay which we know will damage our frontline services.

"Ken complained that their decision to cut PCSO funding was 'leaked' to Somerset's MPs, causing a debate in the House of Commons.

"Ken now wants to 'pull up the drawbridge' and keep things out of the public domain by taking this paper through on Wednesday. It feels as if Somerset is shutting down and becoming a dictatorship."

ENDS