Dear editor Re: the ombudsman's report on the 'Mrs Price' affair

The chairman of the council is under an obligation to chair meetings of the council with regard to the rights of councillors, the interest of the community and ensure that the council meeting is a forum for the debate of matters of relevance to the local community.

Our chairman, no doubt advised by officers, has apparently rejected a call for an extraordinary meeting to consider the critical ombudsman's report on the grounds that it will be on the council's agenda for the meeting on February 24.

This meeting will also agree the 2005/6 budget. It is unlikely that both of these important issues will receive the level of consideration they deserve in the public arena.

It may be considered unreasonable to expect councillors to have the understanding, interest, stamina and commitment necessary to sustain two such special important debates at the same meeting.

It should not be forgotten that the 2002 Joint Review Report on social services conclude that "political leadership has not been well informed about weaknesses at the front line, and has played a marginal role in setting a strategic direction for social services."

This was before the leader and cabinet system was introduced with increased member allowances for increased roles and responsibilities. The public might expect that the elected members of any council in receipt of such unusually condemnatory and critical ombudsman's report would be given, as a right, the opportunity for a special focused meeting to concentrate on, and debate, that issue alone.

Clearly this course of action may not be attractive to the elected and non elected corporate leadership of the council.

Will any members of the majority political party have the courage to support a demand for separation of these debates?

The 2005/6 budget as proposed by the cabinet takes an overall 13% increase from the county's council tax payers, without any detailed explanation or justification.

This proposed budget will, by February 24, have been through four Overview and Scrutiny Committees.

But, based on the performance at the first two O & S meetings, they will not have asked any questions whatsoever about the proposed level of services for which they are responsible, and will have just rubber-stamped service estimates out under their noses.

I understand that there is to be a members-only seminar on the budget before the formal council meeting. Presumably, it is hoped that any difficulties on the budget, from members excluded from the O & S processes can be deflected or ironed out, in private, before public consideration.

The holding of the private seminar, and the ability to question officers in private about budget details will, as in the past, be held up as reasons for restricting public debate at council.

It seems that Pembrokeshire County Council still seeks to stifle, or at least mute public debate. John Hudson Upper Swanswell Broad Haven