PERSHORE county councillor Dan Boatright-Greene is demanding all financial reports produced as part of the local government reorganisation (LGR) plans for Worcestershire be released.
The move comes after data leaked to the BBC earlier this month showed that residents in Wychavon District Council could face tax hikes of up to £400 a year by 2028.
The county council is currently pursuing a single unitary authority for the whole of Worcestershire, but the leaked report showed that it could be more expensive than the alternative two-unitary option.
Worcestershire County Council has said the leaked report showing financial scenarios was not intended for public consumption and expressed disappointment that the slides were leaked.
Councillor Boatright-Green, who is leader of Wychavon’s Liberal Democrats, has said that without these leaked scenarios, it would not have been known that initial assessments show a whole county approach would potentially cost residents in Pershore, Evesham and Droitwich significantly more.
Despite requesting the leaked documentation, he has not been able to gain access so has resorted to making a Freedom of Information request.
He said: “I am absolutely horrified by the tactics being used by the council. It is very clear that they had no intention of providing all the data, just what suited their agenda and their narrative.
“Why are they using Freedom of Information procedures to slow down handing over the document that the recent leaks have come from? Do they have something to hide?
“The Reform administration seems to have forgotten that it is councillors who are elected and make decisions, not the officers.
“The council has repeatedly been unable to answer my questions about why the argument that a one unitary authority is better and more cost-effective than a two unitary authority option.
“And the more evidence I see, the clearer it is that the people of Pershore and Wychavon are going to be hit hard if some of these council tax predictions come to pass.
“I am calling on the leadership of the council to stop hiding behind FOI requests and release all the reports so far produced to councillors so we can scrutinise them properly.”
Councillor David Taylor (Redditch East, Reform UK) who is the cabinet member for local government organisation at WCC, responded to the claims and told the Observer that as the elected administration, the council remained fully committed to transparency and called the move ‘petty politics’.
Coun Taylor said: “It’s disappointing that Councillor Boatright-Greene has chosen to focus on selective aspects of the proposal, particularly when council tax harmonisation will be a necessary consideration in both the one and two council models.
“What he has failed to point out is that no detailed information has been shared with residents by the districts, despite discussions taking place on council tax which will form part of their bid for two unitaries and yet he seems very unconcerned by this.
“He will know that both the proposals, for one and two councils, will have to consider council tax harmonisation so I question why he choosing to pick out the only option to raise when it could be lowered and why is he not asking the same to his district council officers to inform local residents of this information.
“The fact is that any administration can have conversations behind the scenes to look at all options without the need to publish every single consideration.
“This has always been the same in any public sector organisation and he knows this and yet he continues to make spurious allegations which I can only conclude is for petty politics sake.
“If councillors are so interested in being part of the conversation behind the scenes, then they should come and join the Reform administration.
“It could be said that some councillors are doing everything they can to put down the One Worcestershire in favour of their preferred option of two councils, which will cost more to deliver and could cause a post code lottery for services.”
He added that the final business case for One Worcestershire would be shared with all members and residents ahead of the November 6 council meeting.
