Smoke and mirrors sham down at council
MSP Whittle demands apology from hierarchy
MSP Brian Wh i t t l e this week says South Ayrshire Council needs to clean up its act after it was revealed that their leaders published a budget consultation which included phantom proposals.
The plan, revealed in emails obtained by the Ayrshire Post through a freedom of information request, showed that controversial proposals to cut the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award programme and close the Dolphin House at Culzean were left in the consultation so Council bosses and the administration could later get positive publicity for “saving” the facilities.
Now South Scotland MSP Brian says senior figures need to take responsibility and apologise for misleading the public about their budget plans.
Criticising the leadership of council leader Douglas Campbell and chief executive Aileen Howatt, Mr Whittle said: ““This consultation was supposed to be about giving the public in South Ayrshire a chance to make a meaningful contribution to the budget process. Instead, it appears the Council’s leadership used the consultation for some PR enhancing smoke and mirrors.
“Every council administration has a responsibility to treat their employees and the public with respect. I don’t see how South Ayrshire can claim they’ve met that standard while suggesting cuts they knew they wouldn’t ever make, just to claim praise later and, in their own words “show how [ Councillors] have listened to the people. It’s ridiculous for Douglas Campbell and his colleagues in the SNP Labour administration to claim the budget consultation was about transparency when it’s now clear their motives for it were anything but transparent.
“Frankly, the council staff and public distressed by these threatened closures are owed an apology from the council.”
This week the council refused to apologise, with a spokesman stating: “The budget proposals that went out for consultation came from council officers and the final budget decisions were made by councillors in line with the budget consultation feedback and the better than expected funding settlement.”