I FEEL Barbara Mawer was somewhat exaggerating in her claim that the majority of Council meetings are in secret. Nevertheless, there is a real issue here of fulfilling our strong desire to operate a Local Authority, which is, open, accessible, inclusive and responsive.

It is true that we have reduced the number of Committees but this is because they WERE secretive. That system was invented before the majority of people even had a vote! It was outdated and lacked all the attributes we are now determined to introduce.

The Panel system is a real attempt to introduce proper debate and exploration of ideas in an environment which is not hidebound by the old political whipping "do as you are told'' constraints. The Panels also frequently engage with other stakeholders in the town. They are currently held in private but this is partially because they are not decision making and also to engender the kind of dynamic discussion we are seeking to achieve. Their Minutes are however published with the Council Agenda.

We have also introduced Scrutiny Committees. One to look at policy issues and the other to examine performance. These report directly to the Full Council and can scrutinise absolutely anything the Council does. Again their pattern is evolving and I suspect they will emerge as similar to Parliamentary Select Committees. All parties are of course represented on them and I think they will encourage the kind of openness and transparency both Barbara and I wish to achieve. However, unlike the Liberal Democrats I do not yearn to return to an alleged golden age of Committees and Sub Committees ad nauseam which in reality rubber-stamped decisions taken elsewhere.

I am also aware that GUARDIAN reporters are uneasy with our newly evolving set up and would like more information as to what your Council is doing. I welcome this and indeed it reflects the views of participants at the recent Community Conference who predominantly felt that we did not keep them sufficiently informed as regards our activities. It is probably an accurate observation that we have been too busy "doing things'' and not sufficiently focused on publicising and making people aware of the huge amounts of projects, consultations, businesses and events we are involved in. Because of this, we will soon be strengthening our small Communications Team so that we can be more pro-active as regards disseminating information and expanding communication flows. We will also soon be rolling out highly localised Ward Plans so that participation is encouraged at the most local level possible.

In conclusion, I would repeat that our new structure is evolving and that one of its primary aims is to increase involvement and openness thereby reducing the excessive amounts of secrecy characteristic of many Local Authorities in the past.

COUNCILLOR J S GARTSIDE

Leader WBC

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