A SENIOR councillor has called for an investigation into who can quiz council bosses at Full Council meetings, claiming the current system is open to abuse.

Part of each full council meeting is set aside so councillors can interrogate the decision-making Executive about their work.

But Councillor Jeanette Sunderland, leader of the Liberal Democrats, says too much of this time is being taken up with questions from the Executive committee’s own Executive assistants.

There are currently three Executive assistants, all Labour councillors, who are paid to help Executive members with their work.

Cllr Sunderland said: “If Labour Executive assistants use that opportunity to grandstand the work they’ve been doing or just slag off the Government, it’s juts an abuse.”

She has now reported the matter to the City Solicitor, calling for the Standards Committee to look at whether these assistants should be allowed to ask questions at all.

In her letter, she says at the last full council meeting in March, “one Executive Assistant asked almost a third of the questions, taking up 21 per cent of the time available”.

She added: “What made matters worse was that some of the questions were put by an Executive Assistant about an area of his own responsibility and most just sought to criticise the Government.”

The Executive Assistant referred to was Councillor Richard Dunbar (Thornton and Allerton).

Cllr Dunbar said: “To be honest it’s amazing that someone should criticise a politician for asking too many questions.

“I’m doing my job for the people of Thornton, Allerton and Sandy Lane and the wider Bradford district.

“I work hard for people, sometimes that’s asking questions, sometimes it’s answering questions on behalf of residents.

“I guess I should take it as a compliment that another political party is shamed by my work rate.”

A Council spokesman said Executive assistants were currently free to ask questions at Full Council, under the rules.

She said: “This is not a matter for the Standards Committee. The appropriate committee to consider such a matter in the first instance is the Governance and Audit Committee as they oversee the Council’s constitution.

“An amendment to the constitution, approved by Council, would be required to remove the right of Executive Assistants to ask questions.

“A request to include such an item on the committee’s agenda would be considered by the City Solicitor in consultation with the chair of the committee.”

Here are some of the questions asked by Cllr Dunbar at full council meetings this year:

- The number of private renters made homeless has more than trebled under the Conservative Government. Will the Portfolio Holder join me in condemning the Conservative Government for lack of action in protecting private renters in the district and across the country?

- Does the Leader agree that rail fares going up by 27 per cent since the Tories came to power clearly shows they are failing the economy and failing to appropriately invest in Britain?

- Will the Leader agree with me in saying that the budget announced by the Chancellor earlier this month is bad for Bradford and the country as a whole as it attacks the young, vulnerable, business owners and older people in need of support?

- The Royal Society of Medicine has suggested that as many as 30,000 excess deaths could be due to national cuts in health and social care. Does the Leader agree that the government needs to properly fund adult social care including more prevention work which keeps people well and out of hospital?

- I am deeply concerned at the news that the House of Commons narrowly voted in favour to close the Dubs scheme to protect unaccompanied child refugees by the end of the financial year. Does the Leader agree that the scheme should be kept open and does she agree that the government should provide councils with the resources to do our bit in providing places?