AN ANDOVER town councillor has spoken out about the town council’s ‘illegal’ use of panels.
Independent councillor for Winton ward, Rebecca Meyer, who also sits on Test Valley Borough Council, has said that “proper committees” should be used for making decisions such as awarding grants or organising activities, otherwise full documentation should be provided to all members of full council.
It comes after members were tasked with discussing the recommendations of the town council’s grants committee at a full meeting on Wednesday (March 23).
Putting forward her concerns, Cllr Meyer said that the panels were not established in accordance with sections 101 and 102 of Local Government Act 1972, and therefore “have no legal powers”.
She continued: “If they are part of the decision making process, even just making recommendations to the council for ratification, they must comply with the Transparency Code regarding publication of detailed agenda, public meetings, full minutes published in draft then final format on the website.
“Quite simply, with panels having no delegated powers,full council has to make the decision and in order to do so, all of the information must be provided.”
She added: “This isn't really about the grants but spending public money, as every councillor is jointly responsible to account for every penny spent by the council.
“If there are no delegated powers, the council must make the decision, so the council needs to be provided with all of the necessary information to enable it to do so. This includes all the paperwork.”
Both Cllr Meyer and Cllr David Coole chose to abstain from grant votes at the meeting, with Cllr Meyer adding: “I would love to vote for this, but I can’t vote for something that I do not have all of the information for.”
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Responding to the concerns, mayor of Andover Cllr Barbara Long said: “We are following the democratic structure. A grant panel does not make a decision, it makes a recommendation. A decision is made by full council.”
Cllr Michael Mumford added: “We have panels and committees and we delegate responsibility to them. It’s about trust, and it’s the correct way of doing it.”
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