Still Waiting

 I was alerted to the County Council's External Auditor  preliminary report recently.  It made interesting reading especially where it mentioned that no complaints had been made against the council.  This would be a good thing if it was true.   Complaints have been made but these have not necessarily been admitted by the Legal Department/MO which is a different thing.  Badly behaved Councillors appear to be absolved with a tapped wrist even when evidence would appear to be prima facie.  It does not help either if such posts requiring an open mind are stacked by candidates whose role now seems to be to support the status quo - of bad behaviour.  

Thus it is that some councils are able to ignore complaints and the requests made under the Freedom of Information Act with flippant responses which adhere neither to the letter or to the spirit of the Law.  Hopefully the Minister for Local Government will make a meaningful inquiry into such practices which in the long run serve to undermine not only the authority but also the integrity of some local councils.

 The OIC also needs to take a more proactive and serious investigation into councils who fail to comply with its rules _some of which have been seriously eroded over the past 15 years.