Democracy in Highlands is disintegrating, says councillor

Foxley exposure of guidelines breach leads to defeat for ruling coalition

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Democracy in the Highlands is disintegrating, according to a senior councillor who yesterday exposed how education plans had been formulated in private – in breach of the authority’s own guidelines.

It led to a humiliating defeat for the council’s ruling Independent-SNP coalition, with several of its own members siding with the opposition in a subsequent vote on the issue.

Liberal Democrat Michael Foxley, a councillor for 22 years, revealed that the administration and council officials aimed to sidestep the all-party education committee and present its education service plan for 2007-2011 directly to the full council.

Opposition parties warned that the process would leave long-awaited school refurbishments and replacements being excluded from the capital programme.

In the shock defeat for the coalition, committee members voted 13-8 to keep responsibility for local spending priorities within their control.

During a heated exchange, Drew Hendry, a senior SNP member of the coalition bluntly told Dr Foxley that “there is a clear commitment that the administration will decide the priorities for the capital spend”.

But Dr Foxley made a passionate plea that the council’s revised five-year programme for education, culture and sport be debated by the committee before being discussed at any other forum.

He later said: “Democracy in the Highlands has deteriorated significantly. People want to know why decisions are being made and it needs to be put to them in such a way that it’s crystal clear why those decisions are being made. To have a centrally organised corporate plan would make that impossible.

“The reason I’m so opposed to a corporate plan is that you then have to judge the ‘second worst school’ against the ‘second most needy care home’ against the ‘second most urgent road upgrade,’ and that is impossible.”

He said each service should shape its programme and then the administration should address the funding.

The council’s own “scheme of delegation” (rule book) states that each strategic committee must approve its own capital programme and revenue budget for its own respective services.

Mr Hendry later described the Lib Dem intervention as “mischief making” which would hinder the maintenance programme.

In favour of the Foxley motion:

Marion Thurso (LD), Deirdre Mackay (Lab), Isabelle Campbell (LD), Audrey Sinclair (Ind), Margaret Paterson (Ind), Drew Millar (LD), Hamish Wood (LD), Bet McAllister (Lab), Roddy Balfour (Ind), Glynis Sinclair (LD), Dr Foxley and co-opted churchmen J McDonald and D Meredith.

Against the motion: Bill Fernie (Ind), Mike Finlayson (Ind), Maxine Smith (SNP), Eddie Hunter (Ind), Drew Hendry (SNP), Laurie Fraser (Ind), Bren Gormley (SNP) and Miss G Slider (Highland Youth Voice).

Abstained: Jaci Douglas (Ind).