On the 23rd June 2013 I emailed the Mayor-
On a number of occasions there are papers
“missing” from the agenda packs available to the public for Council &
Committee meetings.
Take the PLOS (Public Land & Open Spaces)
meeting of Tuesday 18th June 2013.
Item 6j – New Play equipment items – members
had the benefit of prior viewing of the items on the board in the Council
Chamber as well pictures in their agenda packs. Members of the public were
merely spectators as they had no such pictures, whilst members were discussing
at length the items to be chosen.
Item 6l – Maintenance and repairs to the
Outbuildings and Boundary Walls – Stratton Way Cemetery. The public had no
papers whatsoever.
Item 6m – Replacement roofing works Drove Road
workshop - The public had no papers on this.
Item 7b – Watercourse Maintenance Programme
for 2013/14 in Biggleswade - no map that the agenda says is attached.
There were some additional items, again which
the public did not have the benefit of having any papers on or even know what
the subject was.
If members are serious about engaging with the
public and getting feedback then the documentation enabling them to do this has
to be provided.
I had an immediate response:
Thank you for your email. I will discuss the
contents with Town Clerk and I will be in touch.
There was a full Council Meeting on the 25th
June 2013 at which the Mayor made an announcement.
By the 8th July 2013 I had not received a reply
to my email so I asked for one.
The answer on the 9th July 2013 was:
You will see from the minutes of the Biggleswade
Town Council meeting of 25th June that I have addressed the issues raised in
your email.
My email of the same date:
I was at the Council meeting of 25th June
2013, but like other members of the public was unable to hear all of your
"announcement" on this subject as you did not have your microphone
turned on and you were looking most of time towards the Clerk.
The gist of what I heard, which was confirmed
by others later, was that in the past too many agendas were being left unused
so the numbers produced were reduced. Good housekeeping, but nothing to do with
what I emailed you about.
My email concerned the number of instances
when the agenda says "papers attached" and were not attached on the
public copies. As an example I listed a number of instances at the PLOS meeting
of Tuesday 18th June 2013.
If you did address the issues I raised in my
email, at the 25th June meeting, I see no reason why in responding to my email
you would not repeat them.
I have not been in Biggleswade, so did not
pick up a copy of the agenda prior to the meeting of the 9th July 2013, which
would have had the draft minutes of the 25th June 2013 meeting attached, and I
was unable to attend last nights meeting.
It will be some considerable time before
"You will see from the minutes of the Biggleswade Town Council meeting of
25th June that I have addressed the issues raised in your email." as the minutes are not
published on the Town web site in a timely manner. The minutes of the Council
meeting of 11th June 2013 have yet to be published and quite frankly I get fed
up regularly asking the Clerk to get minutes belatedly published.
I would now appreciate a proper response to my
email of 23rd June 2013.
And
the answer is:
I stated that if members of the public wanted
copies of the attachments to the Agenda they could ask for them when they
collected the papers or at the meeting and they would be handed copies.
So
as I now understand it, if you go to the offices and pick up an agenda and
there items noted "papers attached" and there are not attached the
staff will provide you with copies. The same at meetings when you get to the
first Public Open Session, where members of the public can ask questions that are pertaining to matters
listed on this Agenda, you can ask for a copy of the missing papers and you
will be provided with them.
I
trust the Council Staff are aware of this and have the spare copies standing by!!
