The leader of Bracknell Forest Council has hit back at claims two married councillors enjoy a “cosy” arrangement chairing two associated committees.

Councillor Paul Bettison said the borough solicitor and Local Government Association had cleared the appointment of Cllr Gill Birch as chairman of the scrutiny committee.

The committee considers decisions made by the adult services, health and housing department, which is led by her husband Cllr Dale Birch.

Councillor Anne Shillcock, leader of Bracknell Forest Labour Group, said she believed the situation was morally wrong.

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“Public perception is an important aspect of credibility and the close relationship of an executive member and corresponding scrutiny chair is, in our view, incompatible with public confidence in the scrutiny process," she said.

She submitted the question to Cllr Bettison at the meeting on Wednesday, January 28.

Cllr Shillcock had tried to change the council’s constitution to include the proviso that “the spouse, partner, parent or sibling of an executive member shall not hold chairmanship of any scrutiny body responsible for the scrutiny of that executive member’s work”.

But Cllr Bettison said: “I have to say that if persistence is the only character of virtue then the Labour party can count themselves among the virtuous on this score.

“The CRG [Constitutional Review Group] decided that apartheid approach would have been against the democratic rights of those elected to the authority.

“It would also be unfair to the people who had voted those councillors on to the council. They had not been told when they voted for them that those councillors would not be allowed to fulfil their full representative role.”

Cllr Emma Barnard and Cllr Gareth Barnard are in a similar position to the Birches – she sits on the same scrutiny panel while her husband is the executive member for children and young people.

Other married councillors  include Iain and Jennifer McCracken and Labour husband and wife Mike and Maureen Beadsley.

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