Dudley councillors 'gagged' by leadership to 'keep mistakes and mis-spending secret'

Labour leader Councillor Qadar Zada and deputy leader Councillor Judy Foster said they have been left unable to reveal the contents of a Dudley Council audit committee report which has been classed as confidential by the ruling Tory leadership on the council.

The pair are furious taxpayers money is being spent on expensive lawyers to stop decisions about developments in Dudley being made public before the local elections in May. Councillor Zada said: “I am leader of the opposition and I am not allowed to see what is in the audit report, the council are spending public money getting legal advice to stop me reading it, and I cannot even say what the legal advice was because I am not allowed to.”

Brockmoor and Pensnett Councillor Judy Foster said: “I have seen the report but I legally cannot reveal what is in it. I cannot even talk to my leader about what I have read.

“But what I will say is that I am worried because it contains serious issues which are in the public interest. This is an unprecedented situation which is why we felt we had to tell the media about the situation. But I cannot say anything because I will be reported to the standards committee. I have never seen this level of secrecy by any public body in my life. Every councillor who received the report had their name written in the document like a stick of rock so it could not be leaked.”

The Labour leadership duo complained the Conservative leadership team and council officers are making all types of decisions secret by including them in “blue papers” which cannot be seen by the press or public.

However, Dudley Council leader Councillor Patrick Harley claims the confidential papers are totally normal.

Netherton, Woodside and St Andrew’s Councillor Zada said: “This is outrageous and we felt we had to say something now. We asked for an independent audit but were voted down on that. The people of Dudley are being taken for fools, this comes from the top, from Downing Street, how decisions are hidden and no responsibility is taken.

“Now in Dudley, the same Conservative Party approach, They are trying to keep secret mistakes, mis-spending of public money for as long as they can and are spending taxpayers money on the legal fees.”

“This is the tip of the iceberg. There has been so many broken promises, jam tomorrow but in the end its just toast. And the public never find out why all these development ideas fail. No-one will want to do business in Dudley soon. That is how serious we believe the problems being caused by the Conservatives are in Dudley.”

The argument which the Labour leadership claim has forced them to make public their concern is a report to the Audit and Standards Committee on January 23. The council sought legal advice for a reason for Councillor Zada not to see the report, he then got his own legal advice which was rebutted by yet more legal advice given to the council by the King’s Counsel.

The report is believed to have included the council’s decision to send a delegation to the South of France for the Marché International des Professionnels d’Immobilier (MIPIM) conference.

A Freedom of Information request last year revealed the authority spend nearly £300,000 over three years concerning the international property conference which was cancelled due to Covid in 2020 and 2021. Dudley Council leader Patrick Harley refuted any accusations of wrongdoing. telling the Express & Star the use of “blue papers” was vital for good governance.

He said: “The Labour leadership really do need to grow up. The use of blue papers is very important for a variety of reasons, including commercial sensitivity but also it gives people the freedom to speak about decisions which might have gone wrong. Whatever is in the blue papers gets published in the end anyway, so it is just a matter of time. If whatever is in the audit report leads to finding out that something has gone wrong, makes recommendations or finds an individual has made a mistake then it will all come out in public.”

He added: “If this is the best the Labour leadership can do before an election then their party needs a change at the top. Why don’t they do their job, ask questions and scrutinise?”