Nail in the coffin of democracy at County Hall
Norwich Area Committee was due to look at the progress of academy schools in the city at a meeting tonight.
Next month, it would have focused on changes to fire cover, with the closure of Bethel Street Fire Station.
As a local councillor, I believe its abolition makes the council less accountable to local people.I regret to announce that tonight’s meeting of the Norwich Area Committee will not take place as it was abolished by Norfolk County Council in November 2010.
This was a committee made up of the 13 county councillors representing wards within the boundary of Norwich City Council. We discussed services delivered by the county council for the citizens resident in Norwich, e.g. schools, fire engines, street lighting, waste disposal, social services. We were responsible for opening up the County’s decision to turn off street lights across the city to public scrutiny, and stopping the decision on which streets are affected being made solely by officials at County Hall.
What was interesting for me is the political make up of the committee since 2009: 7 Green, 2 Labour, 2 Lib Dem, 2 Conservative. It was the only formally constituted committee on Norfolk County Council that did not have a overwhelming Conservative majority. Perhaps that is why the administration pushed through the decision to abolish it under the guise of ‘cost cutting’. Whether it saved money or not, another mechanism for electors to meet with and speak to their local elected representatives has been lost.
I believe the Norwich Area Committee could have been effective in getting better joined up working between city & county councils. There is still resentment towards both councils as a result of the failed Norwich Unitary bid, and more joined up working would have meant better delivery of services. The county council provides the vast majority of the money for these services, and all the key decision making posts are held by Conservative County Councillors, some of whom are elected by voters miles away from the city.
It is vital that the members of the overview & scrutiny committees and the Conservative cabinet at County Hall listen to the voices of people in Norwich when making decisions that affect the City of Norwich. Residents can still make their views known directly through the county councillors they elect. Although the Norwich Area Committee is no more, your county councillors are still here: please contact us directly on issues that concern you. We will continue to hold the leader of the county council to account: he has promised to regularly meet with and listen to the views of Norwich county councillors.
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