Concerns pandemic has left 'democratic deficit' in Hartlepool

Hartlepool Borough Council bosses stressed committee meetings are being held, streamed live via YouTube, when decisions are needed, and the majority have returned to a similar timetable as prior to the coronavirus outbreak.

However concerns were raised by Cllr Marjorie James at the latest full meeting of Hartlepool Borough Council.

She made the comments after noting the council’s forward plan said there would be a series of ‘member briefings’ to help shape the medium term financial strategy before it returns to the finance and policy committee.

Cllr James said: “I am becoming increasingly concerned that there is a clear democratic deficit at play within the Hartlepool Council structure.

“We’re being kept in the dark and it’s about time that all of the general business of Hartlepool Borough Council was returned to committees to deal with.

“Member briefings are not adequate, we need committees to be meeting to determine budgets.

“The meetings are just not being called regularly enough, we really need the democratic deficit in Hartlepool to be remedied by members being returned to their rightful place on decision making.”

Cllr James raised concerns particularly around the committees she sits on, and cited how there had been one neighbourhood services committee meeting since the Covid-19 outbreak.

However Denise McGuckin, council managing director, clarified that at the last full council meeting it was confirmed emergency powers in place due to the Covid-19 pandemic had ceased and decision making would return to committees.

She also noted it was previously agreed by councillors at a full council meeting that committees would only meet if there is a report requiring a decision.

She said: “At the last council meeting we did agree that emergency power decisions would cease and any decisions would be taken through committees.

“If there is a decision to be made those committees will stand.

“Any committees for information only would have to wait until there was a report for a decision, and that has been agreed by all the policy chairs and has been agreed by full council.”

She gave an example of how a meeting of the regeneration services committee was stood down due to no decisions needing to be made, adding the next neighbourhood services committee is scheduled for October.

Cllr Shane Moore, council leader, also confirmed the emergency powers in play after the initial coronavirus outbreak have ceased.

He said: “The emergency powers have now ceased and certainly the committees I chair have all returned pretty much back to normal.”

Council meetings resumed, held remotely via Microsoft Teams and streamed live via YouTube, following the Covid-19 outbreak with an ‘extraordinary’ council meeting on June 10.

Since then there have now been two full council meetings, three finance and policy committee meetings, two children’s services committee meetings and two health and wellbeing board meetings.

There has been one meeting each for neighbourhood services, regeneration services, the audit and governance committee and the Safer Hartlepool Partnership.

Meanwhile two planning committee meetings have been held each month since the start of July, meaning there have been six to date.

Chris Little, director of resources and development, noted in regards to the forward plan, detailed service proposals would not be going through to individual policy committees as in previous years due to ‘huge uncertainties’ in the present climate.

He added it is planned to use reserves to support the 2021/22 budget as the council’s financial position will be discovered very late, making it ‘very difficult’ to develop a savings plan.

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