Act now to tell the Leaders of the Royal Borough of Greenwich that decisions should be open and transparent
New Leader Cllr Anthony Okereke intends to "put residents at the heart of every decision". The Council has also pledged to review traffic management borough-wide through a transparent and inclusive process. New Deputy Leader Cllr Averil Lekau has also been appointed Cabinet member for Climate Change, Environment and Transport. This means that she has direct leadership on transportation for the authority. The letter demands open and honest government from Greenwich.
Below is the open letter to the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Council. Because many of us are signing it, please do not change it. Just put your own name and email and/or street address at the bottom, paste it into an email (or print and post) and send to: anthony.okereke@royalgreenwich.gov.uk and averil.lekau@royalgreenwich.gov.uk . The postal address of the Royal Borough of Greenwich is 35 Wellington Street, London SE18 6HQ
Copy to local councillors if you wish and please, either let us know you wrote, or copy to us, at greenwichgonetoofar@outlook.com
The greenwichgonetoofar letter asking for honesty and transparency in governance
Dear Councillors,
Congratulations on becoming leader and deputy leader of the council. The pledge in Cllr Okereke’s press release, that you aim to put “residents at the heart of every decision we make”, offers a truly welcome starting point to your leadership. Based on our experience of dealing with the council, however, it will not happen simply because you believe it should.
Greenwichgonetoofar was formed to press for transparency and fairness following the imposition of the West Greenwich traffic management scheme in August 2020. Our purpose in writing is not to revisit the merits or otherwise of the scheme. Enough to say that by the time it was abandoned, the council’s handling of the issue seems to have offended supporters, opponents and those neutral to the changes in equal measure. The Council has declared that it is now committed to a holistic Borough-wide approach to traffic management through a process which is transparent and inclusive. We welcome this and trust this pledge will be honoured.
We want you to understand how the Council reacted when we sought to engage with it. It leaves us feeling that your ambition to put residents at the heart of decision-making will require substantial cultural and organisational change.
The West Greenwich scheme was developed, introduced and promoted by the Council with false and misleading information. This included misrepresenting the position of the Metropolitan Police Service and the results of a 2019 public engagement exercise. Formal complaints about these and other aspects of the issue were in some instances ignored completely, and in others handled contrary to the requirements of the council’s complaints procedure. A Freedom of Information request in which the council eventually recognised that it had not been forthright in its claims about the police did not receive a response for almost a year. Correspondence from residents to officers went unanswered. Misleading information appeared not only in letters to residents and on the Royal Greenwich website but in formal reports to elected members. (We can supply you with references and a background dossier).
This all constitutes apparent maladministration and breach of the Nolan Principles of Public Life. The principles include requirements that all holders of public office must be truthful, must not withhold information, and must submit themselves to scrutiny to ensure they are accountable to the public. The council’s conduct did not meet those standards. Yet, so far as we are aware, no specific concerns brought to the council’s attention have been investigated.
By a particular irony, the West Greenwich traffic management scheme and associated plans for changes to the town centre were supposed to be the launching pad for a new approach to public engagement - the council said it wanted to become more transparent to overcome mistrust stemming from residents’ poor experiences with the Royal Borough of Greenwich in the past.
We are writing to you now because new approaches to public engagement or hopes like yours of putting residents at the heart of decision-making, have no chance of surviving contact with the day-to-day reality of the way the council is run – with its endemic and deliberate lack of transparency, hoarding of information and cover-up culture.
You may be aware that the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has, over a number of years, expressed concerns about Greenwich Council’s approach to complaints referred by the public to him. In 2020 the Ombudsman revealed that he twice took the relatively unusual step of considering using witness summonses to elicit information from the council. Last year he had to threaten to publish a public interest report simply to get information. You might recall that last November majority party members of one of the council’s own scrutiny panels complained of secrecy and difficulty in obtaining information about the financing of the Woolwich Works project, with a suggestion that the panel might have to take independent legal advice.
Such examples do not convey the impression of an organisation where openness and the free flow of information is encouraged or even tolerated. Earlier this year Michael King, the Ombudsman, told a parliamentary select committee of his feeling that there was a very strong correlation between local authorities that “aren’t keen to listen to the public” and “those that have problems with corporate governance.” Based on our experience, the Ombudsman’s comment could well be a description of Greenwich.
As a relatively new councillor and an entirely new leader you have no personal responsibility for any of the matters we have raised. We urge you to take the opportunity offered by such a fresh start to involve Greenwich residents and businesses in a wide-ranging public review of the council’s governance with all ideas up for consideration - from replacing cabinet decision-making with a more transparent committee system, to delegating decisions affecting specific communities to local committees in the style of the existing area planning committees.
Continuing pressure on local government finance makes it imperative for the council to get public opinion and the energies of community organisations on its side. A more transparent, public-facing council would help achieve that. It is also a timely moment for action. With the number of opposition councillors now reduced to three, exchanges between the political parties in the council chamber are even more unreliable as a mechanism for shining light on the working of the council.
We request, therefore, that you prepare and present practical proposals for changing the past culture of the Council and make them widely available, to encourage broad engagement. Please treat this as an open letter which we will publish on 23 June. We look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
Click here to sign and send our open letter to Cllr Anthony Okereke and Cllr Averil Lekau.
Thank you for backing us up on past actions: they made a difference
Complaints about Council administration
The Local Government Ombudsman has power to step in to put things right and investigate what the local council has got up to. Before you can reach the Ombudsman, you have to start with a formal complaint to the Council.
1. Start with a letter to the Chief Executive, who passes it to the relevant department. (You can send copies of your letter to local councillors.) There’s an example of a West Greenwich Traffic Scheme Formal Complaint on this link.
2. If the complaint is rejected and you can go to a ‘second stage’ in which you ask for a review.
After a review, if you’re still not satisfied, you can then make a complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman. The Ombudsman can investigate the Council and, potentially, put things right.
3. The Ombudsman can take action, or the matter can be taken to Court.
Otherwise … contact us to get updates, to let us know what you think, or write to us to contribute to our blog at greenwichgonetoofar@outlook.com
New Leader Cllr Anthony Okereke intends to "put residents at the heart of every decision". The Council has also pledged to review traffic management borough-wide through a transparent and inclusive process. New Deputy Leader Cllr Averil Lekau has also been appointed Cabinet member for Climate Change, Environment and Transport. This means that she has direct leadership on transportation for the authority. The letter demands open and honest government from Greenwich.
Below is the open letter to the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Council. Because many of us are signing it, please do not change it. Just put your own name and email and/or street address at the bottom, paste it into an email (or print and post) and send to: anthony.okereke@royalgreenwich.gov.uk and averil.lekau@royalgreenwich.gov.uk . The postal address of the Royal Borough of Greenwich is 35 Wellington Street, London SE18 6HQ
Copy to local councillors if you wish and please, either let us know you wrote, or copy to us, at greenwichgonetoofar@outlook.com
The greenwichgonetoofar letter asking for honesty and transparency in governance
Dear Councillors,
Congratulations on becoming leader and deputy leader of the council. The pledge in Cllr Okereke’s press release, that you aim to put “residents at the heart of every decision we make”, offers a truly welcome starting point to your leadership. Based on our experience of dealing with the council, however, it will not happen simply because you believe it should.
Greenwichgonetoofar was formed to press for transparency and fairness following the imposition of the West Greenwich traffic management scheme in August 2020. Our purpose in writing is not to revisit the merits or otherwise of the scheme. Enough to say that by the time it was abandoned, the council’s handling of the issue seems to have offended supporters, opponents and those neutral to the changes in equal measure. The Council has declared that it is now committed to a holistic Borough-wide approach to traffic management through a process which is transparent and inclusive. We welcome this and trust this pledge will be honoured.
We want you to understand how the Council reacted when we sought to engage with it. It leaves us feeling that your ambition to put residents at the heart of decision-making will require substantial cultural and organisational change.
The West Greenwich scheme was developed, introduced and promoted by the Council with false and misleading information. This included misrepresenting the position of the Metropolitan Police Service and the results of a 2019 public engagement exercise. Formal complaints about these and other aspects of the issue were in some instances ignored completely, and in others handled contrary to the requirements of the council’s complaints procedure. A Freedom of Information request in which the council eventually recognised that it had not been forthright in its claims about the police did not receive a response for almost a year. Correspondence from residents to officers went unanswered. Misleading information appeared not only in letters to residents and on the Royal Greenwich website but in formal reports to elected members. (We can supply you with references and a background dossier).
This all constitutes apparent maladministration and breach of the Nolan Principles of Public Life. The principles include requirements that all holders of public office must be truthful, must not withhold information, and must submit themselves to scrutiny to ensure they are accountable to the public. The council’s conduct did not meet those standards. Yet, so far as we are aware, no specific concerns brought to the council’s attention have been investigated.
By a particular irony, the West Greenwich traffic management scheme and associated plans for changes to the town centre were supposed to be the launching pad for a new approach to public engagement - the council said it wanted to become more transparent to overcome mistrust stemming from residents’ poor experiences with the Royal Borough of Greenwich in the past.
We are writing to you now because new approaches to public engagement or hopes like yours of putting residents at the heart of decision-making, have no chance of surviving contact with the day-to-day reality of the way the council is run – with its endemic and deliberate lack of transparency, hoarding of information and cover-up culture.
You may be aware that the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has, over a number of years, expressed concerns about Greenwich Council’s approach to complaints referred by the public to him. In 2020 the Ombudsman revealed that he twice took the relatively unusual step of considering using witness summonses to elicit information from the council. Last year he had to threaten to publish a public interest report simply to get information. You might recall that last November majority party members of one of the council’s own scrutiny panels complained of secrecy and difficulty in obtaining information about the financing of the Woolwich Works project, with a suggestion that the panel might have to take independent legal advice.
Such examples do not convey the impression of an organisation where openness and the free flow of information is encouraged or even tolerated. Earlier this year Michael King, the Ombudsman, told a parliamentary select committee of his feeling that there was a very strong correlation between local authorities that “aren’t keen to listen to the public” and “those that have problems with corporate governance.” Based on our experience, the Ombudsman’s comment could well be a description of Greenwich.
As a relatively new councillor and an entirely new leader you have no personal responsibility for any of the matters we have raised. We urge you to take the opportunity offered by such a fresh start to involve Greenwich residents and businesses in a wide-ranging public review of the council’s governance with all ideas up for consideration - from replacing cabinet decision-making with a more transparent committee system, to delegating decisions affecting specific communities to local committees in the style of the existing area planning committees.
Continuing pressure on local government finance makes it imperative for the council to get public opinion and the energies of community organisations on its side. A more transparent, public-facing council would help achieve that. It is also a timely moment for action. With the number of opposition councillors now reduced to three, exchanges between the political parties in the council chamber are even more unreliable as a mechanism for shining light on the working of the council.
We request, therefore, that you prepare and present practical proposals for changing the past culture of the Council and make them widely available, to encourage broad engagement. Please treat this as an open letter which we will publish on 23 June. We look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
Click here to sign and send our open letter to Cllr Anthony Okereke and Cllr Averil Lekau.
Thank you for backing us up on past actions: they made a difference
- We opposed the Experimental Traffic Orders with hundreds of Formal Objections to both West and East Greenwich Schemes.
- Many of you used our template to complain to the Council's Chief Executive about maladministration.
Complaints about Council administration
The Local Government Ombudsman has power to step in to put things right and investigate what the local council has got up to. Before you can reach the Ombudsman, you have to start with a formal complaint to the Council.
1. Start with a letter to the Chief Executive, who passes it to the relevant department. (You can send copies of your letter to local councillors.) There’s an example of a West Greenwich Traffic Scheme Formal Complaint on this link.
2. If the complaint is rejected and you can go to a ‘second stage’ in which you ask for a review.
After a review, if you’re still not satisfied, you can then make a complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman. The Ombudsman can investigate the Council and, potentially, put things right.
3. The Ombudsman can take action, or the matter can be taken to Court.
Otherwise … contact us to get updates, to let us know what you think, or write to us to contribute to our blog at greenwichgonetoofar@outlook.com
