NHDC offices in Letchworth
Councillors and officers in row over response times
By Laura Burge
Thursday, February 9, 2012
3:23 PM
THE relationship between officers and councillors at a council is strained, with the former not doing enough to respond to enquiries, a report claims.
The comments are made by North Herts District Council (NHDC) elected members, in a communication consultation report which went to scrutiny on Tuesday.
They say that officers often try to put them off when they make queries, and that sometimes they had to wait up to three weeks for a reply. The report also says that many officers have never even met a councillor.
Councillors who sit on the task group discussed the comments at the meeting, and all agreed with the recommendations. This means that the report will be considered at Cabinet, with alternative options being disucssed.
Cllr David Billing, who sits on the group, said that members thought it would be appropriate to amend council legislation to deal with the concerns.
“We felt that there should be a review on the officer member protocol,” he told The Comet.
“There have been cases where members don’t find out about events that have taken place in their ward and will want to be able to respond to residents. They have not been told in some cases what has happened, or in case of a planned event, that it’s going to happen.
“That’s not to say it’s all like that. There are some very good experiences that councillors have had with very rapid and helpful responses.”
The report reveals that Cllr Terry Hone, deputy leader and portfolio holder for finance, also said that officers’ treatment of councillors could be patchy.
But the Senior Member Team (SMT), which consists of chief executive John Campbell and other senior officers, disputed some of the claims.
In the report, it says: “The member/officer protocol is based on a model protocol. SMT considers that it has a clear statement about what members and officers should expect from each other.”
It then adds: “SMT agrees with the principles associated with keeping local members informed about local events beforehand and is keen to ensure that communication is as streamlined as possible.
“It should however be recognised that there may be circumstances relating to policy development, contractual or legal matters where certain factors cannot be disclosed.”
NHDC said it would be inappropriate for officers to comment further until after the report had been considered at Cabinet.
A spokesman added: “At Tuesday’s meeting, overview and scrutiny committee agreed with the Task and Finish Group’s recommendations and the report will go forward to Cabinet on March 20 2012 for consideration.”
More News
- Stevenage hamster killer on ITV1’s Jeremy Kyle Show
- Appeal for witnesses after Hitchin teen assaulted and robbed
- Paramedic struck off in child porn investigation
- Eyewitness account of Stotfold car theft
- Housing plan to be submitted for Stevenage school site
- Stevenage Leisure Centre shut as fire investigation carried out
- National charity founder speaks about life with MS
- Hitchin police officer, 38, to make professional boxing debut
- Evacuation after fire at Stevenage leisure centre
- Stevenage man killed by train
5 comments
A councillor represents the community - here is a link from Direct Government about the role of our councillors - http:www.direct.gov.ukenGovernmentcitizensandrightsUKgovernmentLocalgovernmentDG_073312
Report this comment
Sigi from Letchworth Garden City
Friday, February 10, 2012
A councillor represents the people who voted for him or her. Shehe is democratically elected. Councillors need to be treated with respect by serving government officers. Often a councillor contacts a council officer because a member of the public did not get any response from an office, and finally had to turn to councillors and or MP to get some answer out of the council. Do council officers really understand the rules and regulations in relation to involvement of councillors? - and do they understand the gravity of the situation if they chose to ignore a councillor?
Report this comment
Sigi from Letchworth Garden City
Friday, February 10, 2012
As a serving local government officer, I can tell you the only reason you as an officer delay responding to Members of the Council are i) because you don't have the information to hand, and it will take you a while to find it ii) because you have 3 million other things to do other than answer often trivial or inane queries that could easily be answered by looking on the website, and because the Councillor concerned thinks you have nothing better to do than answer hisher query, and the public can wait whilst you do so. What II *really* object to are Councillors who ask a question to prove a political point, or to pointscore off the opposition or ruling party. We are not your campaign staff.
Report this comment
Ryszard
Thursday, February 9, 2012
I find it exceedingly ironic that it is Cllr David Billing who is commenting on the lack of communication between officers and the elected councillors given he couldn't even be bothered to reply to or even acknowledge an email I sent to him months ago as MY elected ward representative! Very frustrating and can be perceived as rude dont you think Cllr Billing!!!!
Report this comment
Mr_Mac
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Could it be that the cuts the Councillors have made is the cause of the poor response they get from officers.
Report this comment
patrick newman
Thursday, February 9, 2012