'I'll resign if private management meetings are made public', Lancashire County Council finance boss says

Noel O’Neill, the authority’s interim director of finance and commerce, was responding to a call for the minutes of management meetings to be reported to a powerful committee of councillors.

County Cllr Ged Mirfin, a member of County Hall’s scrutiny management board, appealed at its latest gathering for more information about how officials are working to deliver a £121m savings programme.

The job of the board - which meets in public and is made up of elected county councillors - is to probe various aspects of the authority’s performance. Members heard that progress on savings plans is monitored during regular private meetings of directors.

Although updates are routinely provided to councillors via public forums like cabinet and the scrutiny management board itself - at which senior officers appear for questioning - County Cllr Mirfin pressed for more of an insight into “the logic” managers apply in order to achieve the required spending reductions.

“It would be useful, even if minutes aren't taken, just to see a kind of summary indication of what the thinking of officers is in these particular areas,” he said.

However, Mr. O’Neill stressed that he and his colleagues were merely implementing measures to which elected members had already agreed.

“These are officer meetings [and] they are minuted as officer meetings. Our job is to manage - to deliver the policies that you set as [a] council.

“Scrutiny is about scrutinising what you do...[and] what you set as a policy.

“I will resign from my job if we start to put management meetings into the political arena - I’m just telling you that as a personal view.

“I wouldn't do my job if that was the case - because you pay me to do my job to manage. I am happy to come and answer any questions, but…your role as scrutiny is to scrutinise what cabinet and council decide and how effective that is,” he added.

Committee chair County Cllr David Westley said he agreed “entirely” with Mr. O’Neill’s position - although the finance boss himself acknowledged that he was unaware whether the authority’s chief executive supported his stance.

The board, which met earlier this month, agreed to seek “confirmation” on the subject from County Hall’s legal officers before it next gathers.

A report presented to the meeting noted that £38m of savings had had to be removed from the county council's budget plans for 2025/26 and a total of £44.6m in new spending cuts was required over the next two years.