Death Knell tolls for Southport Area Committee?

A Sefton Council Working Group has recommended that the current Area Committee system in the Borough of Sefton should cease; representations have been ignored which made clear that the situation in Southport is completely different to that in other parts of the Borough.

The report suggests that the current responsibilities of Area Committees be transferred to various other Council Committees and that three ‘Constituency Fora’ be established covering the Bootle, Sefton Central and Southport Parliamentary Constituencies. The terms of reference of these ‘fora’ would be:

A. To engage with local residents, community groups, partners, businesses, private sector organisations, the voluntary, community and faith sector and Parish Councils particularly in relation to the Sefton 2030 vision for the borough;

B. In areas covered by Parish Councils (ie not Southport, Crosby or Bootle), to work closely with such Parish Councils and the Sefton Area Partnership of Local Councils by promoting and enhancing the Parish and Town Council Charter for Sefton

C. To consider complaints from constituents if it can be demonstrated that none of their Ward Councillor(s) has responded at all to a request for action;

D. To meet a minimum of twice per year ; and

E. To determine, with the consent of the three Ward Councillors, the devolved allocation of Ward funds on local priorities that would not otherwise be funded by Council budgets; that this funding continue to be administered by the Head of Communities; and any Ward budget over £10,000

It is proposed that ward councillors in Southport will no longer be permitted to save up money for important local projects: any ward Area Committee cash not allocated at the end of the Municipal Year would be transferred over to the (Bootle) Sefton Cabinet Member for Communities and Housing. The use of Council buildings for meetings of the fora will be permitted only “Subject to operational requirements” of the Council.

Southport Councillor Tony Dawson said:

“This recommendation could easily have been written before the working party was even set up. It completely ignores the main purpose of the Southport Area Committee which is to provide the only Southport-wide discussion of matters affecting Southport. The Sefton Central Area Committee is a total unwieldy disaster which was set up to fail and no one in Bootle cares about Area Committee since Bootle Councillors run the entire Council anyway through dominating the Cabinet.”

“Southport Area Committee has, however, been a forum for engagement and debate which has on occasion completely overwhelmed the capacity of the town hall to cope. This has been despite the regular failure of Sefton Council officers to bring matters forward which should be discussed in our local Area Committee. It must also be remembered that the Southport Area Committee is the only committee in the Borough to have been set up as a result of a direct mandate of the local people achieved in a public referendum.”

“The paradox is that this Working Party report will now go to the Cabinet – a committee whose ‘meetings’ can often be over and done with in the time it takes to draw breath, where virtually nothing is said about anything and which generally has ZERO engagement by the people of the Borough.”

“Although the report appears to be a very long-winded way of saying ‘Shut Up Southport’, I believe there are still other options which have not been considered. If we cannot get representation in any other way then I can only see this decision re-fuelling dormant pressures to have a formal elected Council for the town of Southport alone.”