Liberal Democrats Demand A Transparent and Open County Council

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 17th Oct 2006

It is a high priority that the County Council makes its decisions in an open, consultative and transparent way

At the County Council meeting today, Councillor Hazel Watson, Leader of the Liberal Democrats called for the Council to make its decisions in a more open, consultative and transparent way. In a debate the Conservative majority administration voted against the motion.

Councillor Watson referred to an independent Peer Review Report of the County Council carried out last year that highlighted the need for more openness and transparency inside and outside of Surrey County Council. The report also stated that the County Council's partners were unable to work out who was responsible for developing policies on some key areas and that they would like to be involved in decisions about significant issues earlier.

She said: "Since the report was published last year, the lack of openness and transparency has deteriorated within the County Council. Councillors are finding it difficult to obtain information from the Council such as the list of voluntary organisations threatened with cuts.

Surrey residents are also feeling that their views are being ignored by the Council. During the recent public consultation exercise on the Waste Plan, despite considerable opposition to incineration, the Council has just pressed ahead with its proposals for incinerators. Decisions such as that to lift the threat of closure for some youth centres were made behind closed doors."

Hazel added: "It is a high priority that the County Council makes its decisions in a more open, consultative and transparent way. This is necessary so that we can properly serve and represent the wishes of Surrey residents. They need to be consulted in an open way and involved in the decision-making process at an early stage. The Council then has to listen to their views and act upon them.

It also needs to be clear who is making the decisions and the reasons for doing so must be explained clearly. In addition, all Councillors must have direct access to officers for advice and information.

Finally, we must ensure that the work of Select Committees is independent of Executive or officer direction so that they are not constrained in carrying out their scrutiny role.