Ronnie Campbell calls for John Healey to retract comments

Mar 11 2009 by Peter Taylor, The Journal

AN MP is calling on a Government minister to retract controversial comments which left Northumberland councils seething with anger.

Ronnie Campbell, MP for Blyth Valley, took a copy of Blyth Valley Council’s Audit Commission report to Parliament and laid down an early day motion to draw attention to its praise of the authority’s work.

Local Government Minister John Healey sparked a major row last month after he claimed some district council chiefs were hampering the creation of a new unitary authority in the county by failing to co-operate fully – less than 60 days before it was due to begin work. In a letter sent to district leaders, he suggested they were responsible for a £10m funding gap facing the unitary authority because of excessive spending in recent years.

And in an interview with The Journal, Mr Healey highlighted “difficulties” with Berwick, Wansbeck and Blyth Valley district councils.

They angrily hit back at the minister’s “offensive” claims. In an unprecedented step, Mr Healey said: “There are indications that some in local government in Northumberland have not yet fully focussed on the future and appear to be impeding the creation of the new unitary council.”

Mr Campbell said: “I was not very happy when the minister John Healey pointed an accusing finger at local councils like Blyth Valley of trying to derail the new council coming in on April 1. The audit commission have stood up publicly and congratulated Blyth Valley councillors and staff in working positively to get the new council running.