Madam,

The television documentary in which the leader of Ceredigion Council, Ellen ap Gwynn, lost her temper, swore and for which she has since apologised, goes far further than simply her loss of composure, to raise serious concerns about the lack of transparency and openness by which financial decisions are being made by council members and officers.

For Ms Gwynn’s embarrassing performance exposed Ceredigion to the rest of the UK for an apparent shocking lack of understanding that council members and officers have of their need to be open and transparent in how they spend Ceredigion taxpayers’ money.

It has been reported that the consultants employed by the council, PwC, have benefitted to the extent of £2m for their cost-cutting advice. PwC’s strategy was, as ‘Del Boy’ might say, ‘a right little earner!’.

Just a few weeks ago we were told that the council was keen to grant an interest-free loan of £500,000 to a local businessman for restoration of The Deva, a former care home, to turn it into private flats, despite him being served with an enforcement notice. Inevitably, the public purse will suffer, not least in the loss of interest which the £500,000 could have attracted.

Council members and senior officers are not only custodians of our money, but they are also paid by the public, and often on very good salaries well above the vast majority of council employees who deliver ‘proper’ services to the people of Ceredigion and of course also those thousands of us working in the private sector as shop workers, in factories and on farms and for charities and good causes.

Many people have witnessed and are suffering from savage council cuts, including the highly questionable forthcoming sale of Bodlondeb older persons’ home.

Members and seniors officers need a reality-check.

And they could do with a dose of humility if the leader’s performance on the television documentary is anything to go by. Above all, these public servants need to properly understand the value and importance of openness and transparency in decision-making and learn how not to react badly to challenge.

There is a clear need for training - just don’t let the council negotiate the contract!

Yours etc,

Noel Brown,

Lon Y Castell,

Aberaeron.