MP is a no show at pandemic briefings
SHEERMAN HASN’T ATTENDED DESPITE INVITES
HUDDERSFIELD MP Barry Sheerman has not attended briefings to keep abreast of how Kirklees Council is tackling the coronavirus pandemic despite being invited to do so.
The revelation comes just days after the veteran parliamentarian suggested the council should call in external expertise from another authority if it was unable to deal with the ongoing health emergency.
Clr Shabir Pandor, the leader of Labour-controlled Kirklees Council, said it hosted fortnightly meetings with the borough’s four MPs to keep them abreast of how it was meeting the challenge of Covid-19.
But after being challenged by Green group leader Clr Andrew Cooper to reveal how many times Mr Sheerman had participated, Clr Pandor said the MP had failed to do so.
Clr Cooper said he “shocked” by the response.
Mr Sheerman said he had in fact attended one group meeting but because it was unfocused he had declined to attend others.
In outlining how the council briefs its MPs - Mr Sheerman,
was
Tracy Brabin, Jason McCartney and Mark Eastwood - Clr Pandor said where local outbreaks occur “the MP and the ward councillors for that area will be contacted immediately”.
“On top of that myself, our chief exec [Jacqui Gedman] and other directors talk to our MPs at least once - if not more times - during the week.
“We do keep our MPs fully updated in terms of what’s happening throughout this pandemic.”
Pressed by Clr Cooper to reveal how many briefings Mr Sheerman had participated in, he added: “From my understanding because Barry is shielding and he has some other issues I don’t think he’s been to any.”
Clr Cooper replied: “He’s not been to any meetings? If he’s shielding he can do it by Zoom.
“He’s got a lot to say about what Kirklees are doing but he’s not attended any meetings that he’s been invited to.
“Thanks for the response. I’m shocked by it.”
Mr Sheerman said: “I attended the first meeting but it was a talking shop.
“It wasn’t what I wanted it to be. I didn’t want to attend a meeting to speak about everything.
“My focus wanted to be on the thing that was killing people: the coronavirus. The prime responsibility is to stop the deaths, because it hasn’t gone away. It’s still killing people in our patch and up and down the country.
“I wanted a regular one-to-one call with the chief executive and the council leader and I still prefer that. I’m sure that the council is doing the very best job it can do. I would just like it to communicate with me a bit better.”
Mr Sheerman was vocal in his criticism of the council following an outbreak of coronavirus in June at the Kober Ltd meat factory at Hunsworth, near Cleckheaton.
He said he and other MPs had not been officially informed by the council. Consequently he found out via a third party and identified Cleckheaton as the source of the outbreak on social media.
Local councillors were also left in the dark.
Mr Sheerman said it was “the prime responsibility of the local authority in these circumstances to keep a Member of Parliament informed” and that for the council not to do so was “disgraceful”.
This month there have been two other localised outbreaks - at Dura Beds in Batley and at High Grove Beds in Liversedge.