Posted at 26th January 2008 20:06Politically Incorrect
Most charities tend to be run by men with grey hair. There’s nothing sinister in that. Grey haired politicians inspire confidence; whilst older people have more time available; lower family commitments and tend to have wider experience. Organisations wishing to attract younger people into their fold, often to have to hold their meetings in the evenings or at weekends to avoid competing with work commitments.
Advisory committees are usually specifically structured to include as much experience as possible and to date this has largely been the case with the Broads Authority Navigation Committee. Its legal function is advisory and a large proportion of the committee’s value was to provide some of the navigational experience so obviously lacking in Broads Authority staff. Given the circumstances, it’s hardly surprising the average age is at the top end of the spectrum. Similarly there is no practical advantage in ensuring the range of members is spread across a social or racial spectrum - what matters is experience and specialist knowledge. Left-handed lesbians would be fine for the BA Navigation Committee; just as long as they had extensive navigational expertise to offer. The Broads Authority will materially weaken their navigational skills base by Friday’s decision to appoint members of the Navigation Committee on the basis of the Nolan committee recommendations.
It seems probable that this proposal was not promoted for the sake of political correctness. The Chief Executive should not be making the policy running - but appears that last Friday’s effort was the third attempt made to emasculate the statutory Navigation Committee, over relatively few years. If this turns out to be correct, there has been a consistent and undisclosed political agenda to alter the balance between the Authorities three priorities - without reference to parliament. Further, it seems highly likely that this will work largely against the interests of unrepresented local residents and stakeholders.
It should have already dawned that it was not the Navigation Committee that needed reform but the Broads Authority itself. National politicians are beginning to accept that elected representation and public accountability are essential. Pressure is mounting and it’s about time all the nice gentlemen on the Navigation Committee, the NSBA, RYA etc realised that you can’t negotiate with people who are apparently working to some form of under-the-table master plan. They’re only going to respond if they believe you’re about to hit them. Time to get real and a lot tougher.
The 1988 Broads Act defines the structure of the Navigation Committee and Friday’s decision may contravene this Act. Much more interesting is to question why these proposed changes weren’t included within the Broads Authority’s new Private Bill. Well, it wouldn’t be would it? The Royal Yachting Association spent some time negotiating the position of the Navigation Committee. They were duped of course but just long enough to prevent them petitioning against the Private Bill. A strong and experienced Navigation Committee will be an essential foil to the General and Special Directions contained within the Bill and Friday’s decision therefore makes the Private Bill more contentious than before.
It seems last weeks Parliamentary consideration of the BA Private Bill was sneaked through Parliament with the bare minimum of notice, presumably to reduce potential opposition. Similarly the Broads Authority’s solicitor produced an inordinate number of implausible excuses for not providing a generally intelligible version of the amended Bill until it was too late – which only served to highlight the original impression. The level of confusion generated was widely recorded on www.speakerscorner.com A perception of sneakiness is not always an advantage in politics and this is known to have got right up the noses of a number of interested parties.
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