The report the Council didn't want you to see!

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Sat 16th May 2009

Cllr Sutton with the "secret report"

It says "Put simply, the Council is dysfunctional."

For nearly a year Councillor Tony Sutton was refused a copy of a consultants report in 2006 examining the culture of the council. He claimed a "right to know" as it had cost £27,000 of tax-payer's money and a "need to know" as he is supposed to hold the council to account. Tony was also refused a copy under Freedom of Information legislation and has appealed that decision to the Commissioner.

But then a copy of the report was leaked to the Evening Post and reported. Subsequently the council have decided that there is no longer any point in refusing to let Tony Sutton have a copy.

It is a damning indictment of the council!

It might give you an idea who is being referred to in these extracts from the report

". . . he, along with the Deputy Leader are seen as meddling, wanting to micro manage the organisation and act as officers."

"He is known to get upset and shout if things are not done or done to a timescale, even though they are unrealistic or outside the council's legal powers. [...] this type of behaviour is unreasonable, not effective and actually counter productive."

You might also wonder if anything has changed since the report was written at the end of 2006!

At the Council Meeting in February Jon Collins implied that Tony Sutton had leaked the report to the media. It didn't seem to occur to him that he couldn't leak a document they would not let him have!

Perhaps he was just getting upset and shouting!

Related Link:

Download a copy of the report direct from the Nottingham Lib Dem website.