Prince of Wales Theatre: Council's scrutiny process questioned following transfer decision

Cannock Chase Council’s cabinet voted not to proceed with the community asset transfer to the Cannock Chase Theatre Trust (CCTT) at the start of September, during a heated meeting attended by dozens of theatre supporters.

The decision followed a recommendation from the evaluation completed by the council’s appointed consultants, The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC), of the submission received from the trust.

The following week, the decision was considered by the Responsible Council Scrutiny Committee during a discussion lasting almost two hours. One of the scrutiny committee members present, Councillor Andrea Muckley, later questioned the process during Wednesday’s (September 24) full council meeting.

She said: “Cabinet decided in a meeting [on] September 4 to follow officers' recommendations to not go ahead with the Cannock Chase Theatre Trust’s bid to secure a Community Asset Transfer of the Prince of Wales. This was referred to the Responsible Council Scrutiny Committee Meeting of September 8, giving members two working days to prepare questions relating to this decision.

“Opposition parties were advised by the council’s legal adviser that the decision could not be called in as the Scrutiny Committee was effectively serving this function. Heads of service, the CEO and s151 officer of [the council] were present, as were three cabinet members and a representative from SLC, the consultants who assessed the Cannock Chase Theatre Trust’s application.

“No-one from the Theatre Trust was invited, a national organisation who specialise and advise theatres and councils on decisions involving theatres; no-one from Wolverhampton Grand Theatre was asked to attend despite writing a letter in support, and no-one from the Cannock Chase Theatre Trust was asked to attend. In a normal call-in, the members who are requesting the call-in list the proposed attendees – were I to call this in I would have invited all of the above so that the meeting had an air of fairness.

“With these additional attendees the meeting would have been perceived to be more of a scrutiny rather than a fait accompli. Can I ask who exactly decided who should be invited to the scrutiny meeting?”

Council deputy leader David Williams responded: “The decision on whether to proceed with the community asset transfer was an executive decision. The role of scrutiny is not to make a case for opposing the executive, it is to act as a ‘critical friend’ to consider the reason behind making those decisions.

“All the information was published in the cabinet and scrutiny committee agendas before the meeting. I am satisfied the procedure followed was fair and reasonable.

“SLC were there because they were part of the evaluation. They were there to answer questions on their evaluation.”

Councillor Muckley also raised concerns that minutes from the September 8 meeting had not been released by the time of Wednesday’s full council meeting. She said: “The failure to release these, even in draft form, has prevented councillors from potentially asking questions.

“Residents of Cannock Chase are shaken by cabinet’s decision to refuse to entertain the Cannock Chase Theatre Trust’s application to undertake the running of the Prince of Wales Theatre and have been contacting their councillors in large numbers.

“It is right that they be able to see the minutes of the scrutiny meeting which followed the decision and that we, as councillors, are able to ask questions. Can I ask whether it was an error to fail to include the minutes in the minute record or whether it was a deliberate attempt to prevent councillors from asking questions?”

Councillor Williams replied: “Unfortunately, due to staff taking annual leave, it has not been practical to produce draft minutes in time. If members do have questions arising from previous meetings they should contact the cabinet member to ask questions.”