Bullying behaviour in Northumberland and Durham must stop - Kemp, 1st October 2007
Cllr Richard Kemp, the Leader of the Liberal Democrats in local government, has accused officers and members in both Northumberland and
He states, “In both cases the County Councils are acting as if there is a take over and not a merger between different levels of Government. Officers seem to be taking political decisions at a county level and there is no appropriate mechanism in place yet in either County which will enable proper discussion to take place about how services which affect many people in both Counties will be delivered. This is not only a case in which politicians from all Parties and at all levels are not being properly involved but officers too are being excluded from inputting their vast technical expertise”.
In calls to leading civil servants at the Department of Local Government and Communities Cllr Kemp has called on the Government to send out clear guidelines to local councils. He said, “This is an absolute mess created by central government trying to put actions in place before the law has been passed which will actually enable them to act. That is being interpreted in wholly unacceptable ways by some council officers and members who are acting with an unbelievable arrogance in a difficult situation. I am advising district councils of all parties in
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Cllr Kemp can be contacted on 07885 626913