People who have their questions to the council and its committees curtailed or refused have nowhere to raise their concerns, according to various campaigners.
When Brighton and Hove City Council rejects or edits public questions and speeches, the people submitting said that there was no committee to which they could complain.
Adrian Hart, who regularly asks questions at town hall meetings on a variety of issues, highlighted the situation at the council’s People Overview and Scrutiny Committee last Wednesday (28 January).
He referred to Victoria Bhogal, who was co-author of a Jewish and Proud deputation speech made by Susan Sheftz, which the council edited before a meeting, resulting in complaints.
Mr Hart said: “In each case, decisions were treated as final, complaints were declined on constitutional grounds and no scrutiny body assumed responsibility.
“Can the chair reassure residents that the council has adequate mechanisms to ensure that discretionary powers affecting public participation are exercised transparently, consistently and without disproportionate impact on protected groups?”
Labour councillor Jackie O’Quinn, who chairs the committee, said that it was not within the People Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s role to look at constitutional concerns and urged Mr Hart to put his case to full council.
Councillor O’Quinn said that it was a shame there was no constitutional working group to take up Mr Hart’s concerns.
Green councillor Sue Shanks asked whether Mr Hart could take his case to the Audit, Standards and General Purposes Committee, but she was told that the committee would not accept the question.
Councillor O’Quinn said: “I just feel that this is going around putting questions forward. We do need to hear it and there needs to be an answer to it.”
Mr Hart was sceptical about any resolution because, in his experience, when a complaint was discussed in emails, it was declined and there needed to be an examination of fairness and consistency.
Ms Bhogal raised the issue of cutting deputations and public questions at the full council meeting the next day, on Thursday (29 January).
She asked how the council ensured that decisions were fair and independent.
She has complained about elements of a speech calling for support for the Jewish community being edited out.
When Susan Sheftz spoke at a full council meeting, on Thursday 13 October, she started to read some of the lines cut by the council. The meeting ended up being adjourned.
Ms Bhogal asked why officers had referred to an external statement issued by the Sussex Jewish Representative Council about the October meeting.
At the same meeting. councillors voted to look into whether the council had pension fund investments in Israeli firms.
Ms Bhogal went on to say that the motion debated was a breach of the council’s own commitment to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of anti-semitism.
Ms Bhogal said: “I can’t believe that you stand there and say that to a Jewish member of Brighton and Hove after just telling us earlier that you were proud of the Holocaust commemorations here.
“You have breached what you agreed to as a council.”
In reply, the Labour leader of the council Bella Sankey said that the decisions about the agenda and the council’s external statements were made independently.
The Labour group leader said: “I don’t recognise your description of what took place at that meeting, nor the accusations that what took place at that meeting was a breach of the IHRA definition which we as a council are very proud to endorse and support.”
