Cabinet member tries to cover up breach of procedure on catholic school plan (Twickenham & Richmond Liberal Democrats)

Cabinet member tries to cover up breach of procedure on catholic school plan

October 20, 2011 1:11 AM

Eady • [Oct 19]: ON Monday night the Education and Children's Services Overview and Scrutiny committee spent nearly two hours trying to decide when was a decision not a decision. The Conservative Council administration were trying to persuade the committee that they had not taken a decision to set up a Catholic secondary school on the Clifden Road site and therefore did not have to consult or make an official Council decision, which the opposition could then call in for debate

Commenting on the denial, made during the meeting by Tory Cabinet Member for Schools Cllr Paul Hodgins, that the Council had offered the Clifden Road site to the Catholic Church, Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Malcolm Eady said:

"Cllr Hodgins' denial that the Council has offered the Clifden Road site to the Catholic Church lacks any credibility when you consider firstly that he announced at the last council meeting (13^th September) that such an offer had been made and secondly that the Archdiocese's formal application to the Department for Education sets out both that an offer has been made by the Council and its terms (125 year lease at peppercorn rent).

"Cllr Hodgins is clearly trying to cover up the fact that the Conservative administration has bypassed the lawful democratic procedures of the Council and offered the Clifden Road site to the Catholic Church without any legal authority to do so. At no stage has a decision to offer the site to the Catholic Church been taken to a Council committee or open to public consultation. We have therefore asked the Chief Executive of the Council to investigate this apparent serious breach of procedure."

• Notes: After the Council exchanged contracts to purchase the Clifden Road site from the Richmond Adult Community College in early September, it appears to have taken two decisions. The first was to decide the type of school to be provided on the site. The Government limits the choice to a Free School, an Academy or a Voluntary Aided ( VA) school (normally a faith School). The council chose the VA route.

It then decided to offer the site to the Diocese of Westminster on a peppercorn rent for 125 years for them to provide a Catholic secondary school.

At no stage was either of these decisions taken to a Council committee or open to public consultation. This appears to be a clear case of ignoring Council procedures. The important breach of procedure is the second decision, because that affects the future of valuable Council asset, which they had just agreed to purchase.

• Peppercorn rate proposal for Richmond's Catholic school [RTT Oct 23]

• Diocese makes Twickenham schools applications [RTT Oct 23]