Decisions of the board are made behind closed doors frequently without the members of the board being made aware of the matters upon which they are asked to vote
Cllr Berni Turner
Cllr Berni Turner said she had been concerned for some time about the “secretive nature of decision making” carried out by the Authority which provides waste services for Liverpool, Wirral, Sefton, St Helens and Knowsley councils.
The councillor, who is Liverpool city council's executive member for environment, said she was particularly concerned about papers for a board meeting earlier this month which had been placed in the exempt section of the agenda.
The exempt items included proposals to build a new materials recycling facility and information on sites and planning for the region's procurement programme.
Cllr Turner, who was a representative for Liverpool council on the authority, claimed the decision to exempt these items from the papers was a classic example of the secrecy surrounding the Authority's decision making processes, with information even been kept from members.
She said: “Decisions of the board are made behind closed doors frequently without the members of the board being made aware of the matters upon which they are asked to vote.”
Procurement
The Authority is in the middle of a tendering process for a residual waste to energy facility but has not yet specified the exact technology the plant will use. Companies on the shortlist of bidders include Biffa Waste Services and Waste Recycling Group (see letsrecycle.com story).
Merseyside newspapers have speculated that Cllr Turner may have stood down because she was unhappy with proposals to incinerate the region's waste.
The executive member for environment has not officially revealed any specific issues that she was dissatisfied with but said in her resignation letter she “cannot be party to decisions that will have a detrimental effect on citizens of Liverpool”.
She added: “Nor can I condone the waste of public money that is proposed in the exempt items, which is being spent in an attempt to force the city to bid to MWDA's will.
“Openness and transparency should behind everything that you do, without this the board cannot have the confidence of its members or the members of the public who will be negatively impacted by the decisions.”
MWDA confirmed it had received Cllr Turner's resignation and a spokesman said: “It is now the responsibility of Liverpool city council to offer a nomination to fill this vacant post. The Authority cannot comment on matters concerning individual members.”
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