Highland Council takes steps to grant officers wide-ranging powers in event of 'emergency situation'; Local authority move, prompted by latest coronavirus lockdown, provokes 'old tricks' criticism over claimed loss of democracy
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Highland Council leader Councillor Margaret Davidson has defended a move to grant officers wide-ranging powers to make decisions quickly in the event of an “emergency situation.”
A last minute change to the agenda for the rescheduled full council meeting last week saw an urgent motion presented by Cllr Davidson and the leader of the opposition in response to the new Covid lockdown.
It saw members asked to recognise the “deteriorating position” regarding the virus and the tougher restrictions would seriously impact how the council delivers its core services and emergency response.
Despite formal council, committee and board meetings will all continue to be held as planned, the council anticipates that some “urgent actions” will need to be taken outside of scheduled meetings
They include instructions from either the UK or Scottish governments, Public Health or the NHS; actions taken at operational level that are within officers’ existing authority; and actions taken to respond to an emergency situation.
The latter could be outwith current policy limits and so the decision will require homologation – essentially agreeing the decision after the fact – and it is this part which sparked outrage from some members.
Additionally members will be provided with a briefing on all such matters on a weekly basis and decisions requiring homologation will also be published on the council’s website in advance of being presented to councillors.
The agreed motion resulted in members acknowledging that the shift back into national lockdown and the likelihood of increased staff absence will have an impact on the council’s physical, staffing and financial resources.
Cllr Davidson argued that with the new lockdown in force council services will be heavily impacted and the resources may have to be channelled in different directions according to need.
“This will require the redirection of council resources to areas of highest priority, including working with partners to support the NHS,” she said. “Committee and board agendas will likewise be pared back to essential items only to ensure staff are able to focus on these priority areas.”
The move provoked an outcry from some who feared that scrutiny – a key role of elected members – was again being abandoned while too much power was being placed in the hands of unelected officials.
Already two prominent Inverness councillors – Andrew Jarvie and Ron MacWilliam – have slammed the plans with both resorting to the same description: "secretive."
Conservative group leader Cllr Jarvie said: “Once more, this council is shamefully using Covid as a smokescreen to justify secrecy and evade democracy and openness.
“The Highland Council will, again, stand out nationally for all the wrong reasons."
Cllr MacWillian said: “This proposal reeks. The response by council leaders to lockdown in March 2020 was weak and chaotic, yet relentlessly self-congratulatory.
"Their secretive actions made a frightening situation worse and they’re up to old tricks with what appears to be a fresh attempt to curtail democratic function.”
