There are growing concerns about levels of scrutiny within Bridgend Council following a recent email from the Chief Executive, Mark Shephard, asking councillors for patience if referrals aren’t dealt with in a timely manner “for the next few months”.
Some departments – particularly social services – are said to be under pressure as a result of the pandemic response, while the number of referrals (requests for the council to do something) from councillors increased by 1,000 during 2020.
In the email, the Chief Executive warns: “we will….have to pare back on some other functions such as service scrutiny” adding “although we will attempt to schedule and hold most of the Council meetings as I recognise the need to ensure that we continue to have appropriate democratic accountability.”
The aim is for 2021-22 council budget to be the main focus of scrutiny for the time being. However, this could mean issues which are not time-dependent but important – such as ongoing investigations into the Caerau Arbed scandal or routine cabinet reports on a wide variety of issues – would fall by the wayside, end up buried or indefinitely delayed.
One interpretation of the request would be that focusing on the pandemic and the budget makes the best use of officers’ time. Another would be that this is an attempt to curtail scrutiny to stall debate and publication of politically-sensitive reports during an election year.
There’s no sign – as far as I can tell – that any other local authority in Wales is paring back scrutiny in the same way, though Bridgend may be the first and others could follow. It also underlines how much control officers have over proceedings (often dubbed “officer-led local authorities”) compared to elected councillors.
The source of the email said: “There has never been a more important time to scrutinise public services to ensure they are reaching the most vulnerable. I accept limitations and other demands (on council staff) but now is not the time to limit scrutiny.”
