THE recent Press coverage and the recent lead letter of May 21 (Let’s hope city’s coalition delivers) makes me think that some people are being misled by the Tory-Lib Dem coalition’s claim that they are setting up genuinely new cross-party committees of York councillors.
The reality, of course, is these committees are the exact same committees that have existed for the past four years as scrutiny committees.
They have all been cross-party and they have all been committees.
The innovation of the new coalition is to add the word “policy” to the titles of these committees, committees which could always advise on policy anyway. If this sort of spin signals the future direction of the new coalition then residents have every right to be concerned.
The Press reported that the “new” system will involve more cross party involvement in decision-making, but Labour and the Greens are still waiting to find out what this really means in practice. And speaking at cabinet is something any councillor has always been entitled to do.
Danny Golding, Albemarle Road, York.
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