REDDITCH Labour signalled their intention to make their voices heard in the civic year ahead at full council on Monday, May 23.
Denied a place on the all-powerful executive committee – Labour have just seven councillors compared to the rulling Conservative group’s 20 – it means full council will be the only arena where they can challenge decisions made by the executive.
And they started by voicing concern at the decision to include two members without portfolio on executive – Councillors Emma Marshall (Con, Greenlands) and Lucy Harrison (Con, Batchley & Brockhill) – both of whom would be picking up an additional £4,442 in allowances for the role.
“It seems a shame that the Leader (Coun Matt Dormer) was not able to appoint a couple of Labour members to executive,” said Labour group leader Coun Joe Baker (Batchley & Brockhill).
“It would have shown a bit of transparency by the Conservatives.
“And I find it bizarre at this time of financial pressures that you are keeping two posts for members without portfolios at £4,442 each!”
To which Coun Marshall replied that they would be making a valuable and important contribution to the decisions made by the executive committee.
Labour then went on to tackle the level of decision making delegated to officers, putting forward amendments to more than half a dozen issues from setting the level of charges for the opt-in garden waste collections to the housing allocations policy to offers of accommodation for family members in the event of a tenant dying.
Throughout Labour argued these were decisions that were too important to be left to officers but should be taken by elected members at executive committee level, to the obvious irritation of the Conservative group at what was the annual mayor-making ceremony.
All the amendments were defeated.
Speaking after the meeting Coun Sid Khan (Lab, Abbey) said:”We as councillors are representing our wards and the public’s views and opinions in this council, yet the controlling group is passing the buck to the officers rather than being accountable to the executive committee.”
Council Leader Matt Dormer said: “Things like housing allocations is totally inappropriate – how would this look if members were seen to be pushing one particular person or case, it’s just not on.
“We pay officers a lot of money and we are here to hold them to account, not to micro manage their jobs.”
