Those responsible rarely held to account

Sir, – I fear that those really responsible for this half baked parking charge idea in Angus will never be held to account.

It is the unelected officers who come up with these ideas and create the reports for elected councillors.

They only have to persuade the admin leaders who in turn then tell their group councillors which way to vote.

This situation has been the way local authorities have been run for many years now.

I saw it first hand when serving as a councillor in Aberdeenshire for five years.

Elected members have changed over the years from taking a message from their residents to officers and creating the policies which benefit the area.

Now councillors are reduced to being little more than message boys, taking policy from unelected officers to the local population.

The party system that puts forward candidates for election suits these ever present officers because elected councillors are too busy arguing among themselves to notice who is really spending all the money.

It is long past time when those elected should be getting together to wrest back control from the unelected and faceless bureaucrats.

It should be the case that the councillors, democratically elected by the public, run the local authorities.

They should be able to spend the money which, after all, has been raised for the supposed benefit of the community they are supposed to serve. Dave Stewart.

5 Main Street, Luthermuir.

Those responsible for parking charges may never be held to account.