Labour hit back over political stunt

THE Labour group on Warrington Borough Council has called for an authoritative inquiry into a report by the Local Government Ombudsman criticising the council’s planning department.
They have also condemned a joint statement issued by leader of the council Ian Marks and his deputy, Keith Bland, blaming the previous Labour administration for the situation.
Labour leader Terry O’Neill (pictured) said: “As we approach the local government elections next week, the leadership of the Liberal Democrat/Conservative coalition has conducted a political stunt and tried to blame the previous Labour administration, despite there being absolutely no evidence for that in the Ombudsman’s report.
“The Labour Group has called for an authoritative inquiry into the report, in order to ensure that the full facts are brought to light in an open and transparent way. This political stunt from the ‘ConDem’ leadership is prejudicial to that inquiry and is an abuse of the council’s due process.”
As warrington-worldwide reported yesterday, Ombudsman Anne Seex has criticised the council for destroying planning records they had a statutory duty to keep.
She has recommended the council pay £5,000 compensation each to two Culcheth residents.
Cllr Marks and Cllr Bland issued a joint statement pointing out that the records had been destroyed while Labour were in control of the council.
Cllr O’Neill said: “The Ombudsman’s report is critical of the development services department and it’s failure to retain proper records of planning applications and approvals.
“The report covers two complaints made over planning issues covering more than 12 years. It provides no evidence on who was responsible, when the records were destroyed, whether this was wilful and deliberate or indeed who might have known. The issues raised are very serious and obviously need to be clearly understood and resolved.
“The right and responsible way to do this is through an open, transparent and authoritative inquiry, under the control of the council’s governance committee. This is exactly what the Labour Group has called for.
“The alternative is to try and make some political capital in the run up to the election, which is what this failed and discredited Lib Dem/Tory administration has done.
“Their joint statement is nothing more than a cheap political stunt. It is prejudicial to any future inquiry and has no basis in the facts set out by the Ombudsman’s report.
“The people of Warrington are not going to be fooled by this sham. They have already lost faith in this administration. We are committed to resolving the issues raised by the Ombudsman’s findings – not for staging political stunts.”