Following its recent front page report on the widespread local unrest, the Western Morning News today highlights a letter from EDA member Tim Todd. 
(Bigger version will be posted here shortly).
For those who missed it, here’s the WMN story: http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/Grassroots-rebellion-arrogant-leadership-Devon/story-23044099-detail/story.html
East Devon Watch 
Just to remind everyone, here is a small selection of matters kept secret (out of a much, much larger total) – some are about small matters, some are about huge decisions, but all should be handled openly:
o Sale of unused land at Symonds farm for use as a garden – what possible reason could there be to discuss this tiny matter in secret?
o Move from the Knowle to SkyPark – almost all discussions in secret, EDDC leadership so concerned to keep things secret they refuse to follow the Information Commissioner’s ruling to disclose, they even keep things from councillors by editing the consultants report before allowing councillors to see it.
o All discussions about sale, purchase or maintenance of council owned properties are done in the secretive Asset Management Forum – whilst recommendations are put to Cabinet for decisions (some of which are made in public and some in secret) the discussions about options, pros and cons are kept secret.
Obviously there may be some parts of a particular agenda item which need to be confidential, however no effort is made to separate these out (e.g. to provide redacted papers and to discuss only the redacted parts in private) and so whole items are kept secret unnecessarily. Here is a list of agenda items from committees that have been discussed in secret this year alone:
Cabinet
Jan 2014 – Capital Strategy and Allocation Group, Exmouth Regeneration Programme Board, Seaton Regeneration Programme Board, Restructuring the Countryside Team
Feb 2014 – Thelma Hulbert Gallery Appendix – Survival strategy, Office accommodation – next steps, Regeneration review revenue funding requirements, Leisure East Devon – to consider the recommendations
Mar 2014 – Thelma Hulbert Gallery Appendix – Survival strategy, Land adjacent to St John’s Road, Exmouth
Apr 2014 – None
May 2014 – Exmouth Rugby Club – redevelopment for supermarket use, Exmouth Regeneration Programme Board, Seaton Regeneration Programme Board
Jun 2014 – Budget constraints and impact on organisational design & structure
Jul 2014 – Shared IT Services, Seaton Jurassic, Seaton Regeneration Board, Exmouth Regeneration Board, Leisure East Devon Joint Working Group, Reserved car parking spaces – Sidmouth Town Centre, Additional car parking – Underfleet, Seaton. Q: What is there about parking places that needs to be kept secret?
Sep 2014 – Seaton Jurassic, Recycling and waste collection options report
Oct 2014 – Sale of land – Symonds Farm, Exmouth
Q: What is there about parking places that needs to be kept secret?
Q: Why do so many agenda items (like parking) discuss “Information relating to the finance or business affairs of any particular person”? For example, unnecessarily adding details about someone’s expense claim would enable the whole report to be kept secret and discussed in secret – of course I have no idea whether this is true since all the papers which have been kept secret are … um … well, secret. But I think you can get my gist here.
Asset Management Forum
Jan 2014 – Agenda secret, all items secret
Feb 2014 – Agenda secret, all items secret
Mar 2014 – Agenda secret, all items secret
Apr 2014 – Agenda secret, all items secret
May 2014 – Agenda secret, all items secret
Jun 2014 – Agenda secret, all items secret
Aug 2014 – Agenda secret, all items secret
Sep 2014 – Agenda secret, all items secret
Oct 2014 – Agenda secret, all items secret
Overview and Scrutiny
Jun 2014 – Update on Strategic Management Team review
Housing Review Board
Mar 2014 – Potential development of three council houses in Exmouth
Jun 2014 – Sadler Close Exmouth
Sep 2014 – Mountain Close Exmouth, Barnards Hill Lane Seaton
We might expect this committee, which can deal with housing issues of individual citizens, to have occasional need to discuss matters in private.
Audit & Governance
Mar 2014 – Thelma Hulbert Gallery. Appendix – Survival strategy
Licensing & Enforcement Sub-Committee
Mar 2014 – Hackney Carriage Drivers Licence
Full Council
Feb 2014 – Office relocation
It is also interesting how many items are confidential at Cabinet and how few are confidential at Council – this is perhaps the clearest indication of how democracy has been subverted as all the important stuff is discussed and decided in secret by a Tory-only Cabinet rather than in public by a fully representative body like the full Council .
And let’s not forget the quangos, Exmouth Regeneration Programme Board / Seaton Regeneration Programme Board etc. who hold their meetings in private and appear to be completely unaccountable to the electorate and who don’t listen to local residents. For example according to http://www.exmouthjournal.co.uk/exmouth-life/chairman_who_1_3235228 the Chairman of the Exmouth Regeneration Programme Board lives in Axminster won’t listen to the views of the Exmouth Residents and Traders’ Association. Will the new Joint Executive Committee and Joint Scrutiny Committee meetings for Strata, the IT Shared Services company be open to the public or will they be secret too?
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