LIB DEMS PROPOSE CHANGES TO COUNCIL STRUCTURE

THE HIGHLAND COUNCIL Liberal Democrat Group today revealed its proposals for bringing more local control to the Highland Council.

The main proposals include the formation of five or six area-based committees and a strengthening of scrutiny at local level.

            There has been wide spread concern since May 2007 about the effect of the restructuring of the Council, with claims from all parts of the region that it has led to greater centralisation and a significant ‘democratic deficit’. The Independent/SNP-led Administration set up its own backbench working group to examine these issues but excluded opposition Lib Dem and Labour councillors from the discussions.

            Speaking on the paper, Group Deputy Leader Cllr. David Alston said: “While we were disappointed at being excluded from the working group, despite this clearly being a cross-party matter, we hope that our proposals will be taken into account.

“As the majority opposition on the Council, with Members representing all corners of the Highlands, we feel that the current decision-making structure is far too centralist, a trend made worse by the tendency of the SNP to use their position in the Council’s Administration to control council business tightly.”

Lib Dem Group leader councillor Michael Foxley added: “The past year has seen intense, undemocratic centralisation of information and decision making by the ‘independent’/SNP Administration.

“It is essential that all our councillors should now be getting serious information regularly about services and service delivery for discussion and decision at both the Ward business meetings and at Ward Fora so that local people and communities know what the Council is doing. We are determined to see this happen to reverse the massive democratic deficit in the Highlands and the drift into mediocrity.”

In addition to boosting powers of the Inverness City Committee to reflect its status as Highland capital, the proposals also include using technology to allow greater access to decision-making for the public through webcasting of meetings, and making greater use of video-conferencing to reduce travel time and costs.