9:10am Monday 16th April 2012
By James Nadal
DEMOCRACY will be the winner, Wycombe Liberal Democrats say, as the party introduces a Westminster style shadow Cabinet system.
Each of the nine Lib Dems at Wycombe District Council will now have an official position of responsibility scrutinising their opposite number in the Conservative administration.
Councils operate a similar system to the Government with a Cabinet of leading figures who oversee different subject areas, such as housing or planning.
As Labour, the official opposition, currently do at national level, Wycombe Lib Dems now have a Shadow Cabinet.
The Lib Dems have the highest number of councillors out of the opposition parties at WDC.
The party's Wycombe leader Cllr Trevor Snaith said: “Too often the cabinet make decisions that, if scrutinised at an earlier stage might allow concerns to be raised.
“This development offers the opportunity for the Cabinet to hear the views of the official opposition from the inception of proposed policies, and I believe will deliver a better democratic outcome for residents.
“This measure will incur no extra cost to the taxpayer, despite the considerable added workload to be borne by the individual councillors, who are each keen to adopt a more proactive scrutiny role in respect of their opposite numbers, which can only be to the benefit of WDC residents."
Each member will engage in regular meetings with senior officers, and will attend cabinet meetings where required to raise issues relating to their portfolio.
How the shadow cabinet will look: HR & ICT - Paula Lee Homes Housing and ex partnerships- Julia Wassell Property & Economic development - Ray Farmer Environment - Alex Slater Planning and sustainability - Brian Pollock Democratic and legal Policy - Chaudhary Ditta Big Society and localism - Simon Parker Community - Matt Knight Finance - Brian Pollock supported by Trevor Snaith Leader of Council/Deputy Leaders - Trevor Snaith
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