TORIES FAIL TO CONSULT IN DORSET COUNTY COUNCIL’S SCHOOLS’ REORGANISATION


Last week I attended a special meeting of Purbeck District Council – the latest of many public meetings in which the subject of proposed changes to the three tier structure of schools was hotly debated. Lib Dem councillors proposed a rejection of the County Council’s proposals but were outnumbered by a Conservative proposal which, although it contained some laudable features, contained the killer suggestion that some parts of Purbeck might be better suited to the 2 tier model. Unfortunately this gives this County Council an escape clause.

The most important factor is that the public be properly consulted & permitted to have a role in the decisions made. During the weekend I met with the leader of a Welsh council which had attempted a similar reorganisation. At least the new leader of the Council that had formed after the local elections, which were lost by the party that hadn’t listened & with education as the major issue. Remember there are only 2 seats in the Conservative majority in Dorset & it’s only 8 years since the Lib Dems ran the council – during which time incidentally we built several new schools without going over budget & entered the election period with the books balanced.

Back to the schools issue – the new council in Wales made sure that it involved the community closely in the decision eventually reached through a series of working parties. Which did involve some compromise – but at least people had played a proper part in the decision made.!