Darlington Council criticised after ‘appalling’ scrutiny restructure
The ruling Labour and Liberal Democrat coalition approved amended rules to allow chair and vice-chair positions to be appointed at Annual Council – the first meeting at the start of the local authority year.
Darlington Borough Council said committee chairs and vice-chairs are currently appointed at the initial committee meetings, meaning key members are not in place for several weeks, delaying work and decisions.
However, council leaders were accused of gerrymandering committees to favor the political direction of the administration.
Conservative Leader Jonathan Dulston warned that the changes will give council scrutiny less autonomy. He told a council meeting: “The majority of changes to the constitution that have been put forward are bog standard, but to remove the committee’s autonomy, I just don’t think it is right.
“It’s clear as day that this is a power grab from the Labour Party. What’s even more concerning is that the Liberal Democrats are sitting on their hands and allowing Labour to put this forward.
“It’s very, very clear what Labour is trying to do, and another example that it isn’t listening. They don’t work collaboratively and just want as much power as possible. The last thing that this council needs is Labour chairs who take their instructions from the executive. All this is doing is giving scrutiny less autonomy – it’s shameful.”
However, Labour’s James McGill defended the changes, saying it is a “practical, common-sense reform which seeks to improve scrutiny, not hinder it.”
And responding to Cllr Dulston’s criticism, he said: “How would you know what committee chairs do? You don’t turn up to committee meetings, not one meeting this year. You do not have a foot to stand on when it comes to the work that happens in scrutiny committees. If you did genuinely care, you would turn up.”
Green councillor Roz Henderson became chair of the council’s audit committee on the toss of a coin, and warned that electing members without proper experience would hinder progress.
She added: “We need to have the best person for the job, doing the best things. If we have somebody chairing a committee that doesn’t have that knowledge, then we are doing our residents a vast disservice. We need to scrutinise every decision we make.”
The current political composition of the council includes 24 Labour members, 13 Conservatives, six Greens, five Independents, and two Liberal Democrats.
Yet, despite the party’s large presence in the Town Hall, councillor Kevin Nicholson called for better political balance and questioned Labour’s willingness to work with other parties.
“Need I remind you that the Labour Party did not win an overall majority,” the Independent member for Eastbourne said. “It’s not a priority to be dealing with the constitution; who gets what chair and who doesn’t. You have stripped the integrity from the scrutiny process by not allowing the committees themselves to decide who chairs them.
“I just can’t understand why you have taken the time to build this report and wasted the time of the chief executive, who is very new to her role. It wasn’t a problem, but then it was because a couple of your members might not be able to get it on the toss of a coin.
Recommended reading:
“Guess what? That’s what the people of Darlington asked for: a little bit of balance on some things that they voted for.
“I think it’s absolutely appalling.”
However, Council Leader Stephen Harker said the restructuring will “enable scrutiny and other committees to get down to work far sooner than they are currently able to do so.”