Derek Deedman

Lib Dems on West Sussex County Council have yet again been dismayed by the ruling Tory administration’s refusal to allow proper scrutiny of decisions made by the Cabinet. 

Morwen Millson, Lib Dem group leader on WSCC, has criticised the Tory council for once again rejecting a request to scrutinise spending of £1 million of taxpayers’ money. 

“There do not seem to be any criteria that determine how one-off, windfall revenue is spent or what consultation should be undertaken. The total amount is just under £1 million, which is a large sum. The public have a right to expect the Opposition to analyse this sort of spending, but as usual the Tories don’t want to be held accountable to voters. Simply putting a decision paper on the county council’s web site is not good enough.” says Morwen. 

“We need to know what other items were considered to use this money and the business cases for these items, when there are families desperate for more help with their disabled children whose plight is ignored, public transport routes that are being axed due to the county’s failure to invest in modern technology to keep buses moving in our towns and buildings that are not fit for purpose in which our children are being taught.” 

This is the second time in less than a year that a request to call-in a decision has been turned down by the scrutiny chairman. Haywards Heath councillor Brian Hall says, “It is a grave departure from what is ethically and morally correct, to permit such a distortion of the scrutiny process. This is especially scandalous when the Tories have a built in majority on the committee in any case!”

Deputy Group leader Dr James Walsh from Littlehampton adds, “It is not as though we abuse the system at all. We are very selective and sparing in our call-in requests!”