“Hard-pressed taxpayers deserve to know how their money is spent” Cllr Brendan Glynane

The Leader of the Official Liberal Democrat Opposition at County Hall, Cllr Brendan Glynane, has called for the Conservative administration to allow full public debate of how taxpayers money is spent through LGSS. At two recent Northamptonshire County Council Cabinet meetings reports relating to money spent on back office services such as finance, legal, HR, IT and others, through LGSS have been debated in private.

Cllr Glynane said "Given that the Conservatives have a record of financial blunders at County Hall - the £32m Carillion contract, the botched schools sites sale deal and the growing £2.5m hole in the school meals budget - it is difficult to see how it is in the public interest to suppress public debate on how taxpayers money is spent through LGSS. Both of these reports did not appear to contain the sort of very sensitive information that leads to the public being asked to leave the meeting."

"There is a significant danger that a precedent is being set by the Conservatives that whenever the County Council discusses the detail of how taxpayers money is spent through LGSS on providing back office services this is done in private. That is not acceptable to the hard pressed taxpayers of Northamptonshire."