COUNCIL SHOULD TELL US TRUTH

HOW disappointing it is that we are still yet to learn the identity of the councillor who received an administrative penalty for claiming benefits to which they had no entitlement.

Despite it being the case that the name of a certain councillor has been put forward as the potential culprit, putting all rumour aside I am sure we can all appreciate that it is no doubt concerning when someone who is ultimately an elected official – and therefore accountable to the community which elected them – is seemingly able to hide behind the shield of ‘data protection’ as a means of avoiding taking responsibility for their behaviour.

What’s more concerning is the attitude which appears to have been taken by some of the councillors in relation to this controversy.

A recent example concerns the comments made by Councillor Anne Cheetham in last week’s edition of the Free Press (dated Friday 22nd September 2017), who commented that the individual who ‘leaked’ the name of the councillor in question had committed “misconduct in a public office”.

I am, quite frankly, astonished that someone would make such a comment. To brand the person who leaked such information as the wrong-doer is completely wide of the mark and misses the point.

It is of course true that data protection legislation serves to ensure personal information remains confidential, which is something anyone can see is entirely correct. I do however struggle to see how such an argument can be advanced when we are discussing a public official.

This is what makes it all the more astounding that the council is still yet to be upfront with the public as to who exactly this councillor is.

It is hardly as though the council can put the matter off by claiming that ‘the matter is under investigation’. On the contrary, the council is already well aware of who the individual in question is and has already taken the step of issuing the administrative fine to them.

This begs the question as to what exactly is being investigated now and, more importantly, what is the hold-up?

The simple fact of this matter is that – regardless of what our political persuasions are – we should not need leaks from unofficial sources to inform us of what our councillors are up to; that should surely be something constituents can already expect from their own council members. Councillors are after all elected by us and should therefore be accountable to us.

I therefore hope that the members of the council will review their decision not to name the councillor in question and remember that it is the public who they have to thank for being where they are in the first place. Matthew Taylor Rawtenstall