'We have so many big questions that need answering now' - senior Harborough councillor demands an emergency council meeting to discuss the Covid-19 pandemic

A senior Harborough councillor is demanding an emergency council meeting to discuss the Covid-19 pandemic.

Cllr Phil Knowles, who leads the Liberal Democrat opposition on Harborough District Council, wants the ruling Conservative group to call an extraordinary forum now.

But Cllr Phil King, the council’s leader, hit back as he insisted every councillor has been kept “fully updated” on the fast-moving coronavirus threat.

Talking to the Harborough Mail, Cllr Knowles said: “We are being hit by the biggest crisis the whole country has faced since the Second World War.

“The coronavirus outbreak is seriously affecting all of us in one way or another.

“So it is high time the Conservatives in charge of our council told us exactly what is going on.”

Cllr Knowles said the 11-strong Liberal Democrat team of councillors “have expressed disbelief at the lack of formal reporting on Covid-19 to both the council and council committee meetings/forums”.

“We simply cannot understand why there has been such a total lack of feedback on the coronavirus pandemic.

“We urgently need to take part in a special emergency Covid-19 meeting or forum now so that we can get the full picture and discuss this crisis properly.

“The council’s Cabinet is set to meet on Monday June 1.

“The only opportunity for comment at that meeting is the verbal update from leader Phil King.

“There will be no formal report, no formal facts, no formal figures – nothing,” he declared.

“In fact the first full report, the first formal opportunity for full debate, will be four or five weeks from now when the full council meets remotely on Monday June 29th.

“That is not good enough.

“The coronavirus is having a terrible impact on homes, businesses and every single person right across Harborough district.

“We deserve to see a full comprehensive, across the board report into how it’s hitting us all - no ifs, no buts. “To have to wait at least another month before we all meet up virtually at a council forum is completely unacceptable.''

Cllr Knowles said Harborough council is facing its most overwhelming financial challenge since being set up in 1974.

“This crisis is threatening to send small businesses to the wall all over Harborough – and bigger businesses could well have to cut jobs too.

“The council is already using a significant amount of its vital reserves to keep ticking over this year as it is in its budget for 2020-2021,” he said.

“That money should have been saved for a rainy day like this one as we warned when the budget was set earlier this year.

“Income has plunged after car parking charges were suspended while trade waste collection has suffered and business rates will also drop.

“We need a proper plan for the future.

“What help are struggling businesses going to get?

“What about the newly-unemployed – and the council itself?

“We have so many big questions that need answering now.”

Cllr Knowles said he is ready to turn the full council meeting on June 29 into a no-holds-barred Covid-19 showdown.

“We should be getting ready to hold a crisis meeting on the coronavirus in the next few days.

“We have the technology to have a proper debate on this but I fear we have missed the boat,” he said.

“So I’ll be calling for standing orders to be suspended at the meeting on June 29 so we can have a full and frank debate.”

But baffled Cllr King told the Mail: “I’m very surprised to hear that Cllr Knowles has said this now and that he is taking this approach.

“We are certainly not hiding anything and we have no hidden agenda.

“We are not the biggest authority in this country and we have a limited capacity with only so many staff.

“But we have done our best to keep all our members fully informed with how we are tackling Covid-19 right from the start.”

The Conservative council chief said he’s been holding special crisis virtual briefings with Cllr Knowles as well the council’s joint chief executives every week.

“I wasn’t required to do this but I felt it was appropriate to do so to keep him fully up to date.

“I’ve regularly shared notes with Cllr Knowles from the local resilience forum, the county council and the Local Government Association,” said Cllr King.

“Cllr Knowles has raised various issues and we have done our best to answer those.

“I will also be releasing a written statement on the crisis from myself as leader to all our members as well as the media before our Cabinet meeting on June 1.

“There will be a time and a place in future when we will have a full look into this.

“But, meanwhile, we are doing our best to keep Cllr Knowles and every other member fully up to date with what we are doing.”