Labour is raising the alarm over Westminster Conservatives’ attempt to avoid scrutiny of their decisions.
Since taking control of the council, they have cut scrutiny committees from seven to five members and are moving to restrict when decisions can be “called in” for review. Call-ins will now only be accepted if they meet strict criteria set by the Conservatives themselves.
Under the constitution, major decisions are taken by individual Cabinet members. If concerns are raised, councillors can “call in” a decision so it can be examined by a scrutiny committee.
These changes matter because they give the administration more power to wave through controversial decisions without proper challenge from councillors or residents’ groups, ultimately weakening democratic accountability.
Cllr David Boothroyd, Shadow Cabinet Member for Finance and Innovation, said: “It’s a solution in search of a problem. Conservative councillors admit there isn’t an issue – there were just nine call-ins in four years. Under these new rules, only one would have been allowed.”
He added, “They promised to ‘resist power grabs’ and deliver ‘genuine engagement’. A council that listens and acts. With a small majority and no mandate to curb scrutiny, what dodgy decisions are they trying to hide?”