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Surrey Heath Liberal Democrats - working for you, for a better futureWorking for Surrey Heath, Ash, Ash Vale & Tongham |
Surrey Heath Liberal Democrats - working for you, for a better future <info@surreyheathlibdems.org.uk>
World Wide WE Will!
May 23, 2004 2:06 PM
Surrey Heath Liberal Democrats have published the Register of Interests for Liberal Democrat Surrey Heath Councillors on their website, after Conservative Councillors on Surrey Heath's Standards Board refused to back a Lib Dem initiative to put this information for all Councillors up on the Council's own website!
Register of Interest forms now available on the Lib Dem website
The Register of Interests is a list of the financial (and other) interests of all councillors, and is by law available for inspection by any member of the public. Lib Dem Councillors had suggested that in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act and in keeping with the "Electronic Government" initiatives, this register should be made available to the public through the Council's website. But Conservative Councillors disagreed, saying that this would mean that too many people would then be able to see it!
Lib Dem Councillor Duncan Clark said: "This is a farcical position. Every resident has the right to see this register, and many are going to wonder what is in it that these Tory Councillors don't want them to see. We believe in openness on this and similar matters, and have therefore decided to publish this information on our own website."
Rosalyn Harper, local Lib Dem Parliamentary Spokesperson said: "It is important in local government to have a commitment to openness and transparency. This is particularly true at the moment when the local Conservative party organisation is reported to be under investigation by their central party. This follows extraordinary allegations made by the current Conservative MP for Surrey Heath, Nick Hawkins, when speaking in the House of Commons recently".
Lib Dem Group Leader, Councillor David Whitcroft said:" We challenge Conservative Councillors to match our openness on this. We are even willing to publish register entries for their Councillors on the Lib Dem website, if they lack a suitable website of their own."
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