Last night I asked a question regarding Labour’s proposals on Members Allowances as follows:
‘We’ve had a verbal explanation for the new administration’s proposals. Why weren’t these shared with the Panel as per paragraph 2.4 of the Report?’ (The Independent Members Allowances Panel had issued a report to the Council and said in relation to Labour that no ‘explanation’ was ‘forthcoming in the evidence provided to the Panel’.)

Later Cllr Ian Shires asked Cllr Nazir the Cabinet Member for Regeneration whether he agreed with the positive assertions of his ‘own’ report i.e. that achievements under the Tory/Lib.Dem. administration last year included a ‘reduction of JSA claiments from a rate of 6.3% to 3.7%’ and a reduction in youth unemployment ‘from 3285 to 1660 claiments’.

No answers were provided to either of these questions and I’m sure other councillors could provide examples of other questions not answered last night because there were a few. I think Labour will have to do better than this if it wants to meet its pledge of being ‘open and transparent’.