Tory council's "open and transparent" claim slammed as "public information panel" won't be held in public

Brentwood Tories' claim to be "an open and transparent council" have taken another body blow after they refused to hold the "Public Information Panel" in public and said that the meeting must take place behind closed doors.

The panel, which has been a properly constituted committee of the council for over six years has only met once, in private, and with only two of its three members present.

The lack of transparency over the items discussed at the meeting means that the communications function of the council is not scrutinised in public, leading opposition councillors to conclude that the communication is there to spin the Tory message rather than promote the council itself.

Recent incidences of a bias towards the Conservative administration include:

• A press release issued at speed to show the deputy leader as a "knight in shining armour" over a situation at the Brentwood Centre when, in fact, it was three opposition councillors who had attended the incident - a release that was then withdrawn.
• A reluctance to issue a press release to support the Shop Warley Day - a non-partisan event that was supporting local retailers under the threat of Tesco.
• A press release issued over the moving of the disabled car park in William Hunter Way informing residents that the decision had been made, when it hadn't even been consulted on.
• An initial refusal to announce that a new political group had been formed on the council, although a release had been issued when the councillors resigned from the Tory group.
• Re-tweeting of political statements from the Conservative Leader, news from their local activists and name checks of Conservative councillors, but no counter coverage of opposition members.

Major council publications are also supposed to be seen by the PIP but, in the latest clanger from the Conservatives, an email was received by opposition councillors saying that the group "was not currently running" - despite it being agreed at three council meetings this year.

Cllr Karen Chilvers, Lib Dem and a third of the committee and a chartered marketer, said:

"Council communication should be non-political but it is clear that this is a tax-payer funded Tory mouth piece. It is preposterous that a "public information" panel is so determinedly held behind closed doors when it should be discussed in public.

"It makes you wonder what the administration have to hide - perhaps they are not keen on being challenged on all the Leader focused communications or indeed be asked why an officer told me that he had to "run it past the leader" before he was allowed to publicise a public event?"

"I have been on the PIP since 2007 and, at least in the previous leader's day he would run the Vision magazine past me for input."