Dundee City Council has denied breaking the law over how it arrived at plans to cut £14.6 million from its budget next year.
The SNP administration set up a group called the Changing for the Future board to examine where the axe should fall on services as it prepared to cut £20 million from its budget for 2011/12.
Only SNP councillors and Lord Provost John Letford attended the meetings but when opposition councillors later asked for a copy of minutes, they were instead given a list of items that had been put up for discussion and told that no minute of the meetings was prepared, nor were background papers distributed.
A brief minute of the board’s final meeting before the policy and resources committee met on December 13 was issued, which revealed a host of plans to make savings of £14.6 million, substantially less than the original £20 million of cuts that had first been expected.
However, the Labour group has now claimed that failure to take a full record of the Changing for the Future board meetings may have been illegal although this has been strenuously denied by the SNP administration
In a written answer to Dundee MSP Marlyn Glen, Scottish Government finance secretary John Swinney said that minutes should be kept of all meetings of “a council.”
He said, “Schedule 7 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 sets out the provisions relating to meetings and proceedings of local authorities.
“Under the provisions of the schedule, local authorities are required, for example, to record the names of members present at a meeting of a council and also to draw up minutes of the proceedings of a meeting of a council.”
Although Mr Swinney only refers to “a council” the Local Government Act itself makes it clear that all sub-committees are also bound by the rules regarding record-keeping.
Administration leader Ken Guild said the rules did not apply to the Changing for the Future board, which was set up to hold informal discussions about cuts as it was not a formal committee.’Dishonesty’He said, “The answer from our legal officers is that the board was not a committee or sub-committee so was not subject to the rules, it was more akin to a working group, which had no powers.
“The whole idea was to allow informal talks to take place. When there are informal talks no minutes are required.”
Mr Guild added that opposition parties had been invited to the Changing for the Future board meetings on several occasions.
He said, “They weren’t interested enough to turn up they really abrogated their responsibility by refusing to do so.
“What they are trying to do is turn attention away from the fact they did not take an active role in talks.”
Mr Guild added that reports discussed at the third meeting of the Changing for the Future board have been posted online for the public to view.
But Kevin Keenan, the council Labour group leader, said he believed the entire process was surrounded by “dishonesty.”
Asked if he felt the council had found itself in a situation where it has either broken the law by not taking full minutes or has lied about how they had reached decisions on where to make cuts, Mr Keenan said, “I couldn’t agree more.”
He said, “I’ve been saying all along that things should be out in the open and the council has to rethink what they have done in private.
“They should have been discussing £40 million worth of cuts if the Changing for the Future Board was having a real discussion about the cuts then there will be minutes discussing these available.
“The council should put these forward to let the people of Dundee have the choice about where the cuts should be.”
He added, “I think there is a dishonesty about everything. All of the decisions have been made by the SNP group and senior council officers.”‘Disregard’A brief minute was issued to opposition group leaders after the final Changing for the Future board meeting ahead of the full policy and resources committee meeting on December 13.
But Mr Keenan described it as “ridiculous” that the SNP administration continues to expect people to believe that the £14.6 million worth of cuts were formally agreed at a single meeting.
He said, “After the last meeting there was an excuse of a minute produced by the chief executive I think they started to realise that legally, they were in a dangerous position,” he said.
“It is ridiculous to think officers weren’t making presentations.”
He added, “They are saying they are being more open but that is just ridiculous. To suggest there was consensus about these cuts in one meeting is ridiculous.”
Liberal Democrat group leader Fraser Macpherson said, “I think it’s very important that every committee or board keeps a comprehensive and accurate minute and the Changing for the Future Board should be no different.
“The discussions that have taken place in private should have taken place at the full policy and resources committee.”
Ms Glen said that Mr Swinney’s answer showed contempt for the people of Dundee.
She said, “SNP-controlled Dundee City Council believed they could ignore the duties and responsibilities which are to be observed by all councils in Scotland.
“From this high-handedness followed a contemptuous disregard for the right of council employees and the people of Dundee to be fully informed about the SNP’s cuts from the outset.”