Questions from “idiot” members of the public that were branded “insane” by Mayor Ben Houchen are to be limited but not abolished going forward.
Tees Valley Mayor’s Question Time (MQT) has been approved, with an amendment meaning that a limited number of questions can still be submitted from members of the public ahead of statutory meetings. These will then be answered by combined authority officers and not by politicians.
Original proposals being presented at Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) Cabinet were set to introduce two in person ‘Question Time’ events per year with Mayor Houchen answering the public’s questions, along with a monthly radio phone-in on BBC Radio Tees.
The proposals were also set to see the removal of the public participation protocol, meaning that it would no longer be possible for members of the public to submit questions ahead of meetings. These questions are answered by TVCA officers. This proposed removal of questions resulted in accusations being levelled at TVCA from Ray Casey of the ‘Teesside Resistance’ group, who said the move was an attempt to “reduce public scrutiny”.
At TVCA’s Cabinet meeting on Friday 28 March, Mayor Houchen referred to most of the questions submitted as “completely insane”, which caused an audible reaction from the public gallery, resulting in the mayor asking for “silence in the public gallery, because people will be removed”.
At this point, one member of Teesside Resistance, Helen Taylor, said: “Well remove us then, they’re not insane questions, that’s not fair.” Ms Taylor repeated her argument that the questions were not insane and Mayor Houchen said: “Well in my opinion, they are.”
Speaking generally on this, the mayor said later in the meeting: “If the actual general public, the real general public, saw the stuff that was going on, they’d be horrified, because you are absolutely just wasting the taxpayers money and public time on completely farcical questions”, adding, the questions are submitted by a small group of people who are, in his opinion, “idiots”.
Labour Cllr Alec Brown, leader of Redcar and Cleveland Council described the MQT aspects of the proposals as “great” but said that taken overall, he couldn’t support the measures as a result of the proposed removal of public questions.
Mayor Houchen responded that the recommendations set out in papers were “pretty much” in line with all other mayoral combined authorities and said TVCA currently receives 120 questions for almost every (cabinet) meeting. TVCA documents that advocated the change of policy highlighted that at the two most recent TVCA Cabinet meetings, held on 20 December and 31 January, 50 and 26 questions were received, respectively.
Cllr Brown suggested an amendment to the existing proposal, which was then discussed by Mayor Houchen along with all five local authority leaders who attend Cabinet. After much back and forth and “going round in circles” in the words of Hartlepool Council leader, Labour Cllr Brenda Harrison, an amended version of the original proposal was eventually adopted and voted through unanimously by all five leaders of local councils as well as the Tees Valley Mayor himself.
The agreed amendment was to retain the public participation protocol but that only three questions will be allowed per person per meeting, rather than the current unlimited number.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Mayor Houchen has confirmed that the first MQT is set to take place in the form of a phone in to BBC Radio Tees on 15 May, running for an hour between 9am and 10am.
