A flawed consultation?
Posted by Peter in Opinion under Adur | Council Watch | on Dec 29 2007
Dear Editor,
Your report on Adurs decision to go to a system of Cabinet and leader for the future management of our affairs enabled the current leader of council to suggest that some of the consultees seemed not to understand either of the systems.
Could this perhaps be that the consultation failed fully to explain the alternatives?
The figures used in an attempt to discredit the public’s responses were those compiled for councillors, responses which it was clearly explained to them in writing and verbally by the Legal Officer they were free to ignore.
It is true that the responses were from a minority, but the fact is that there was among them a majority in favour of the existing committee system. It should be born in mind that minorities are acceptable to the council. The decision was taken on a vote from which a number of councillors abstained and there were some twelve of our twenty nine elected councillors absent from the meeting.
Yours faithfully,
Peter Berry
