EAST Lancashire MPs are backing a move to allow the press and public into new cabinet-style council meetings which will take vital decisions affecting the lives of local people.
Gordon Prentice, Peter Pike and Nigel Evans are all supporting Labour MP Gareth Thomas in his bid to ensure that meetings, agendas and minutes are open to residents and newspapers.
Their concern has been sparked by Blackburn with Darwen's new unitary authority's decision to opt for cabinet-style government with closed executive board meetings.
Mr Thomas is now hopeful that the government will amend the legislation to allow local authorities to set up the cabinets or allow the election of powerful mayors to ensure proper public access.
Mr Thomas, Labour MP for Clwyd West in North Wales, is alarmed that the new government proposals do not re-state current requirements for councils to hold meetings in public except where special considerations -- such as finance, commercial confidentiality or the interests of individual employees or individual citizens are being discussed.
He has introduced the Local Government (Access to Information) bill under the House of Commons 10-Minute Rule Procedure. He accepts that it is unlikely to become law but is now hopeful that when the current Local Government bill goes into committee that ministers will amend the legislation to take account of his concerns.
He said: "This bill needs to be strengthened to require more open decision making by officers and politicians sitting on the new executive of cabinet bodies. As things stand, cabinets will be allowed to meet in private. It is essential that councils retain the trust of the public and that the public should be able to influence the decision making process on important issues like schools, the environment, planning and social services."
Pendle Labour back bencher Mr Prentice said that while he supported modernising councils public access to cabinets was essential. He said: "We do not want to import the Whitehall culture of secrecy into local government."
He was joined in his promise to support Mr Thomas by Ribble Valley Tory Mr Evans who said: "This is absolutely right. There must be proper public access to cabinet meetings and the decision-making process or it is a denial of democracy."
Burnley Labour MP Mr Pike said he favoured an improvement on the current committee system but said: "If we do have a cabinet system, appropriate meetings must be in public."
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