Criticism over officer contact details
HIGHWAYS officers’ contact details are “kept secret” from councillors, it has been claimed.
Roger Evans, who leads Shropshire Council’s opposition Liberal Democrat group, said the unavailability of a phone number left his constituents in the dark after a flooding incident.
Highways officer Ffion Horton denied contact information was kept secret, but said one-to-one contact with officers was discouraged because it was hard to monitor.
She admitted it was a “harsh stance”, but said processing queries through a single system ensured cases didn’t get lost.
They were speaking at a Performance Management Scrutiny Committee meeting.
Councillor Evans, who represents Longden, said: “Can I be told why members aren’t able to be given the telephone numbers of officers? Why are they kept secret?”
Ms Horton said: “It’s not that they are kept secret.”
She said that, according to a review, of the amount of incoming communication made it “impossible to give adequate one-to-one responses”.
She added: “What we want is one avenue for communication into the service that is monitored by multiple people so I can guarantee things get followed up.
“If you ring the member of staff directly, I can’t make sure you get a response.
“That is the reason why we’ve taken quite a harsh stance on communication.”
Councillor Evans said: “I’ve got a recent case of flooding in Lyth Hill.
“All the public have been given is the name of a person. Nothing else.
“They don’t know what is happening and can’t find out.
“I’m an elected member. I used to be told I am a ‘cabinet member’ when I’m in my division. That’s what the old chief executive, Kim Ryley, used to tell us.”
Committee chair Claire Wild asked: “Have you e-mailed the person?”
Councillor Evans said he would prefer to speak on the phone and get immediate information, but admitted that was “fair comment” and promised to e-mail.
Conservative councillor Joyce Barrow, who represents St Oswald, said: “I fully support the way it’s done now. We’ve got 74 members. If they have two or three or even one query a day; that’s a lot of time.
“I don’t think we have the luxury any more of ringing up and an officer and expecting them to be there.”
