A judicial review is being sought regarding Birmingham council commissioners who obstructed scrutiny of a decision to close four adult day centres. The legal challenge argues commissioners overstepped their authority and breached the Local Government Act by disallowing scrutiny from elected members. Critics, including relatives of affected individuals, argue this undermines local democracy, particularly given the substantial number of councillors excluded from the decision-making process. The council has been under commissioner oversight since declaring bankruptcy, and the decision has drawn significant public outcry due to its impact on vulnerable residents.
James Cross stated that the commissioner made a mockery of local government by overriding established processes and preventing the full scrutiny of the closures. He emphasized that local democratic processes were removed due to direct intervention by the commissioners, highlighting the importance of scrutiny for democracy, especially given that cabinet decisions are made by only 12 out of 101 councillors.
Commissioners led by Max Caller defended their actions by claiming there was pre-decision scrutiny over the closures, asserting that delaying the process would have cost the council £100,000 a month.
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