In the Evening Telegraph yesterday, Councillor Roberts rejected my call for her to quit the Tayside Fire & Rescue Board. In so doing I think she has provided more evidence of why she should do the right thing and resign.
Firstly, SNP Councillor Christina Roberts has clarified that, "I am not on the (Tayside Fire & Rescue) board to represent Dundee" .... she believed "the proposals for Balmossie were in the best interests of the wider Tayside area." I wonder how many votes Councillor Roberts received from residents in the wider Tayside area in the May 2007 elections to the city council? Perhaps she is planning to stand for the SNP in Angus next time? Significantly, the East End area often has a fire and rescue crew and fire appliance from Balmossie deputising at Kingsway East when their crews have been called out.
Secondly, later in the article it was reported that:
She said she did not accept claims that fire cover at Broughty Ferry would have been adversely affected if he change had gone through. "I don't believe the Chief Fire Officer would have brought this forward if that had been the case," she said. This seems to be overly deferential to the authority of a chief officer. This has been referred in two Audit Scotland reports. In their report, Tayside Fire and Rescue Authority – Audit Scotland Performance Audit report 2006, they wrote:
"2 Board members and the senior management team demonstrate commitment to the modernisation agenda, however robust challenge is not currently evident throughout the Board structures." (page 3)
and
In the very recently published Best Value 2 pathfinder audit Dundee City Council, they reported on page 10, "The council has many of the key elements in place to ensure good governance and accountability. However, elected member scrutiny of decision-making and performance needs to improve."
I think her responses strengthen the validity of my claim that she should resign as a member of the Fire & Rescue Board. The City Council can easily identify another councillor who will appreciate what it means to represent Dundee on the Fire and Rescue Board.