Rugby Liberal Democrat Councillors could not support the restructuring of the Council

At a full meeting of Rugby Borough Council on Thursday 26 November 2020, Rugby Liberal Democrats Councillors did not support the proposed restructuring of the Council with no member of the Group voting in favour.

The Liberal Democrats are not against change or seeking improvements to how Rugby Borough Council operates, but in the debate that was done in private as per the Council's rules, concerns were expressed about the timing, vision and process carried out by the authority.

Commenting, Councillor Jerry Roodhouse (Paddox) Group Leader, said:

"This not the right time for full scale reorganisation and the Council should be concentrating on supporting staff and fighting the pandemic. The organisation was stretched in lockdown one and here we are in lockdown two still stretched heading towards Christmas. The local government settlement figure from central government is not due until mid-December and the Council's new Corporate Plan is not expected until January. Furthermore, there is little detail about the impact on staff which could mean some being asked to do more with less resources. Restructures and transformations are difficult to do and are heavily process driven, therefore now is not the right time for large scale reform."