Dudley Council has come under fire for allegedly railroading through significant rent increases by scheduling a critical scrutiny meeting behind closed doors. The controversy centres on the ring-fenced Housing Revenue Account (HRA), which includes a proposed rent hike of 4.8 percent for council tenants.
Meeting Arrangements Spark Transparency Concerns
The informal scrutiny meeting is set to take place via Microsoft Teams on Tuesday February 10, just one day before a cabinet meeting that will vote to approve housing finance for the upcoming financial year. This timing has raised eyebrows among opposition councillors who claim the process lacks proper transparency.
Councillor Shaukat Ali, deputy leader of Dudley's Labour opposition, expressed strong concerns about the approach. "The word that comes to mind is railroading because of the shortness of time," he stated. "They should have considered this much earlier, before withdrawing the report from the full council meeting."
Council Leader Defends Process
Council leader Patrick Harley, representing the Conservative-run borough, has robustly defended the council's approach. He emphasised that the opposition has already had multiple opportunities to suggest changes and has failed to present alternative options.
"There have been two scrutiny meetings of the housing committee already," Cllr Harley explained. "This is ultimately a decision for cabinet, not full council. However, in the spirit of transparency and to give what is frankly an awful and pathetic opposition a third opportunity to scrutinise, we've asked the chair to convene another meeting."
Accessibility Questions Raised
Typically, scrutiny meetings are public events that residents can attend, with details published on the council's website. However, at the time of writing, this particular informal meeting was not listed publicly, leading to further criticism about accessibility and openness.
Cllr Ali highlighted this issue, stating: "It's kind of behind closed doors, which isn't good for transparency or good governance. The HRA budget is as significant as setting the council's main budget and should receive the same level of scrutiny and status."
Technical Solutions and Time Pressures
Cllr Harley countered these claims by explaining the practical considerations behind the meeting format. "It's not behind closed doors," he insisted. "Time is of the essence, so using Microsoft Teams represents the best available option. The process remains unchanged - only committee members ask questions during these sessions."
He further clarified that any council member could attend if they wished, simply by requesting a Teams link. "It's not a private meeting," Cllr Harley added, noting that any recommendations emerging from the informal meeting would receive proper consideration by the council's cabinet.
Budget Deadline Looming
The urgency stems from the need to finalise housing finance decisions before the full council sets the remainder of the authority's budget at the end of February. This tight timeline has created pressure on all parties involved in the decision-making process.
Cllr Ali revealed that opposition members had been developing alternative proposals before the original report was withdrawn from the full council meeting. "We weren't in a position to formulate complete alternatives because the relevant information hadn't been properly shared with us," he explained.
The situation continues to develop as both sides present their arguments about proper procedure, transparency, and the best way to handle significant financial decisions affecting council tenants across the borough.
