An Oxfordshire politician has claimed he was not aware of a "ground-breaking" new charter signed to improve communication between councils in the county.
The county council launched the document on July 15 which is the first of its kind in the country as it includes all three tiers of local government - parish and town councils, the city council, the district councils and the county council.
It is hoped this will "deepen local democracy " in Oxfordshire by providing a "mutually agreed set of aims, principles and commitments" which "underpin how we work together and deliver outcomes for residents".
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County council spokesman Paul Smith described it as a "ground-breaking charter between councils all across Oxfordshire" to "deepen and enhance local democracy across all of the county’s communities and improve ways of working between councils".
But speaking to us, Conservative county councillor for the Hanborough and Minster Lovell division, Liam Walker, said: "I wasn’t aware the county council was working on such a charter so it’s nice to read that county councillors are being kept in the loop on such a proposal.
"I fear this will just be a Lib Dem talking shop and nothing more than the county council looking at ways to offload responsibilities to town or parish councils.
"Given each of the district councils in Oxfordshire have a number of county councillors also sat on them you would think communication across the councils would already be pretty good."
But the county council insists all members were made aware.
A spokesman said: "We did engage with all elected county council members, including two separate emails in October 2023 and January 2024 inviting feedback on the proposed charter, as well as inclusion in a number of newsletters sent to all county councillors.
"We also sought feedback on the charter in all county council locality meetings at the beginning of this year."
Speaking of the charter, Liberal Democrat county council leader Liz Leffman said: "While other parts of the country have charters like this one, none of them cover all three layers of local government.
"The fact that we do in Oxfordshire is a testament to the grass roots nature of our local democracy."
Deputy council leader Dr Pete Sudbury, of the Green party, said: "It's a bit like New Years' Resolutions - a nudge to everybody.
"We will think about communicating with councils earlier and better."
Dr Sudbury likened it to having a "climate policy" and said "over time people wander towards following it".
Labour county councillor for Witney Duncan Enright suggested he was broadly in support of the principles of the charter in light of the Labour government's discussions around devolving more powers to local government.
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About the author
Noor is the Local Democracy Reporter for Oxfordshire who covers political stories from across the county.
She began working as a journalist in Oxford in September 2023 having graduated from the University of Oxford.
Noor was trained at the News Associates journalism school and can be found on X through the handle @NoorJQurashi
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