The Liberal Democrats, locally and nationally, opposed the introduction of single party Cabinets to run local government but, since that is the law, our task is to make the system as democratic as possible, with the maximum opportunities for participation by the public, relevant interest groups and Councillors not in the Cabinet.
A Lib Dem controlled AVDC would:
Re-introduce public question time at Council, cabinet and in other appropriate circumstances, to give citizens the opportunity to raise issues directly with Councillors and cabinet members.
Appoint a Cabinet Member to be directly responsible for Customer Service (A position shamefully abolished by the Tories). This Councillor would be responsible for ensuring that all services were appropriately responsive to public demands and needs and that people requiring or receiving Council services are treated in the right way.
Improve public consultation. Councillors have the right in law to take decisions and that is what they are elected for. Nevertheless the Council should consult when genuine choices exist and explain what is happening and why when they don’t. We are not in favour of bogus consultation – there is no point in consulting when only one decision is possible and it is dishonest to do so if the decision has already been made (such as the Tory Council’s reduction of library hours). However there are many cases where consultation with individuals and/or interest groups is very valuable and we are committed to consultation when it helps the Council to make an informed choice.
Discuss with the County Councils and others who undertake consultations how we could better co-ordinate our efforts so that people aren’t asked for the same information/opinions from different bodies and don’t get contacted by different authorities within weeks of each other except when really necessary. Consultation is only effective when numbers of people respond and they won’t if they are fed up with the process.
End unnecessary secrecy. There are some things (such as issues involving individual staff members or benefit claimants or contract negotiations) that are, by their nature, confidential and which the Council rightly discusses in private. Generally, however, the Council discusses too much in private. The theatre project is an example. Lib Dems felt that they had to withdraw from meetings on this project because they were being used to keep secret matters that should have been fully debated publicly.
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