Scrutiny Not Holding County Cabinet to Account (Oxfordshire Liberal Democrats)

Oxfordshire Liberal Democrats <info@oxfordshirelibdems.org.uk>

Scrutiny Not Holding County Cabinet to Account

April 6, 2006 10:06 AM

Oxfordshire County Council Liberal Democrats have accused the Conservative administration of neutralising the county's scrutiny committees, and preventing them holding the Tory cabinet properly to account.

The chairmen and vice-chairmen of the five county council committees are all Conservative councillors. By contrast, the chairs of the scrutiny committees on the Vale of White Horse District Council (Lib Dem controlled) and Oxford City Council (Labour controlled) are always elected from the opposition parties, and the reports and comments from these committees hold considerably greater weight and result in major operational changes.

Cllr Alan Armitage, a member of the county council's Corporate Governance scrutiny committee, found that the chairman would not allow him to question a key part of the administration's corporate plan.

He said: "I tried to question the Tories' ideas on Value for Money. All they seem to be concerned with is reducing the rate of increase of Council Tax, and improving efficiency in some council operations. Both are important, but there should be a lot more to Value for Money, such as choosing best-value contractors, and avoiding waste on things like printing bills. But I was told that I could not raise re-drafting issues. How are we to hold the administration to account if we can't probe such fundamental questions?"

The issue was raised by all opposition parties during a meeting of the full County Council on April 4th, but the Conservatives justified their stance on grounds that some other Conservative councils also elect only Conservative chairs and vice-chairs of the scrutiny committees.