Islington Council’s Executive meeting on 14 January decided unanimously that Safer Neighbourhood Police meetings should be amalgamated with Ward Partnership meetings. The latter were established on the abolition of Area Committees after the 2010 election by the then new Labour Council.
This raises two questions:
- How will this arrangement work in wards such as Highbury East where the local Liberal Democrat Councillors have failed to hold regular ward partnership meetings to engage with residents and update us on local matters?
- How will this fit with the police preference for these meetings to be chaired by members of the community rather than by elected representatives, given that ward partnerships are chaired by councillors?
The previous area committees provided an accessible opportunity for the community to hold their councillors to account.
The replacement system of Ward Partnership meetings has a patchy record with inconsistent performance across the borough as evidenced by infrequent meetings and in many cases an absence of minutes on the Council website, which all adds up to a lack of transparency.
We need an improved democratic process where local people can have more of a say. The danger of this decision lies in increased top-down centralism.