Exposed: East Riding Council’s ‘bullying’ culture must be confronted – The Yorkshire Post says

They’re not typical inspectors; they’re senior local government chief executives and council leaders who know, from decades of experience, how town halls should be run.

‘Bullying’ behaviour witnessed by ‘peer challenge’ team during visit to East Riding Council

And while East Riding’s current leadership is reluctant to respond, preferring to wait for the full report, local residents – the most important people – are being badly let down.

After all, the visiting peer review team witnessed “important decisions being made outside of the democratic process because of generous officer delegated powers” which they said posed a “potential risk to the organisation”.

They came across examples of officers “demonstrating undue control” over the decision-making of elected councillors “through a lack of transparency in the information provided to them”.

And officials were left perplexed by the council’s financial strategy as its cash reserves diminish at a rapid rate.

These shortcomings reflect poorly on Jonathan Owen after he succeeded Stephen Parnaby, Yorkshire’s longest-serving council leader, in 2019.

He’s the public figurehead for the Tory-controlled council and he should be asserting his authority when his officials overstep the remit by setting policy rather than upholding the wishes of democratically-elected councillors who can be ultimately held to account at the ballot box.

After all, the Government’s Levelling Up White Paper includes an intention for a bespoke devolution deal for Hull and the East Riding. That will only succeed, however, if the councils concerned are well-run and follow the correct decision-making protocols – assurances that East Riding will struggle to provide at present.

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