Full facts on Arts Centre meals

Published on 22nd March 2007 in Letters

Sir - Councillor Tether ('Subsidised arts centre meals were on agenda', Readers' Page, March 15) seems to have adopted the maxim 'never let the facts get in the way of a good story'.

My letter of March 8 refuted the claim that the press and public were excluded from a meeting of February 19, 2007 in order that the issue of 'subsidised meals' at the proposed arts and civic centre could be discussed. To counter this, Cllr Tether quotes from an agenda item from November 20, 2006 which was marked as exempt and not for publication. Cllr Tether is therefore in breach of the Code of Conduct to which he agreed to abide.

Notwithstanding this, the outcome of this agenda item was that a clause relating to discounted (not subsidised) meals be removed from a draft franchise agreement for the operation of a cafe/bar. This was at the request of Cllr Raddings. Therefore, he must have been aware that this was not the reason behind the exclusion of the public on February 19, since the matter had already been determined.

In fact, the issue of subsidised meals has never been discussed at any meeting. Officers had proposed that it be a term of the franchise for the operator of the cafe/bar that discounted meals be offered to Council users on occasions. This would be at the cost of the operator and not the local taxpayer. The reasons for this suggestion were that the Council has a contractual obligation to provide meals to some performers. In addition, the Council uses outside caterers for some civic functions, will sometimes need to provide meals to voluntary staff and very occasionally to Council staff who are unexpectedly called on to work beyond their normal hours and are prevented from taking a meal at home.

The effect of not agreeing to the clause on discounted meals will therefore result in the Council having to pay the franchise operator the full cost of any meals, which will result in an increase in operational costs and hence to the local taxpayer. This disclosure is hardly an embarrassment or annoyance to myself, as Cllr Tether claims, but a frustration that he fails to understand the difference between a subsidy and a discount, and the consequence of this decision.

Cllr Tether's advice to me is to "keep out of politics". My role is apolitical but I am contractually obliged to act as spokesperson for the Council and to correct any misleading statements which may adversely affect the public's perception of the Council. I owe my allegiance not to any political party or individual councillor but to the taxpayers of Goole. Councillors, by definition, are transient but the public is always there.

I will not enter into any further debate on this issue, since these are irrefutable facts based on agreed agenda and minutes of the Council and not someone's interpretation of the facts.

BRIAN ROBERTSON

(Town Clerk)

Gladstone Terrace, Goole