Cllr Geoff Brodie will be calling next week for accountability of Isle of Wight council (IWC) Cabinet members at full council meetings to be reintroduced.
For as long as we can remember, at the full council meetings members had been able to ask questions of the portfolio holders – in front of the public. This form of openness and transparency was dropped by the Conservative administration after they came into power last May.
Open Democracy
Next week Cllr Brodie will be attempting to bring it back. However, with 24 Conservative councillors and only 15 in opposition, it may be a tough call getting enough support to pass the motion.
The motion reads:
Although a minority of Members opposed it, this Council last May voted to remove Cabinet accountability to Full Council in a public forum; a cornerstone of executive governance in a democracy. Research through the LGA has indicated that there is no other known example of this in other local authorities.
Council notes that even the British Prime Minister and their Cabinet are accountable to Parliament through PMQs and regular Ministerial Questions, with the media and public in attendance.
Council does not consider the provision of private Member briefings, written questions to Cabinet members behind the scenes, and questions to Cabinet members at Cabinet and Scrutiny – both relatively poorly attended by the public – to be an adequate alternative.
Therefore, Council agrees in the interests of open democracy to reintroduce an agenda item for Member questions to Cabinet members at Full Council from February 2018.
OnTheWight will be reporting live from the meeting which starts at 6pm on Wednesday 17th January 2018.
