Stinging attack against MP: Letter from County Councillor John Osman, published in today's Wells Journal
I WRITE to express my disappointment with the recent inaccurate and hypocritical press releases issued by the Member of Parliament for Wells, Tessa Munt.
Instead of seeking the facts and showing a willingness to engage with local authorities, it seems Ms Munt has again sought to score cheap political points. In a recent press release regarding Somerset County Council's Ofsted rating for protecting children, she inaccurately states that the safety of children has not been the Conservative administration's priority.
From 2009 to 2013 the Conservatives have increased the budget for children's social care from £32 million to £40million. Furthermore the members of staff in the children's social care team have been increased from 226 to 275. This is clear evidence of how important children and young people are to us.
The press release goes on to say that the Lib Dem county councillors remain willing to assist the council with its children's services. Well they have a funny way of showing it.
The Lib Dem Shadow Councillor for Children's Services has only attended one meeting with the Director of Children's Services, despite her being in the job for three months. In my opinion. this really is not showing any willingness to engage. In a tweet issued on her twitter account Ms Munt wrongly stated that Somerset County Council's children's services "remain" inadequate. This is completely inaccurate; last year when the council's children's services were assessed they were deemed adequate. I question how she can make such an obvious mistake, therefore I conclude her attacks must be politically motivated.
The services we provide to young people must improve and the Conservative team at County Hall pledge to oversee this improvement as quickly as possible.
A separate press release issued on Tessa Munt's website was so wildly inaccurate it had to be taken down by her own team.
The release was critical of the Conservative administration selling 17 of its county farms without any consultation. If Ms Munt bad taken the time to find outthe facts then she would have discovered that most of the farms were sold to the tenants, therefore I can't see how they weren't consulted.
Ms Munt slams the Conservatives for selling county farms in the first place. However, she again has failed to check her facts as if she had, she would have realised that in the history of Somerset County Council, most county farms were sold off in the last Lib Dem administration from 1993 to 2009.
In another local publication Ms Munt was critical of another chain brand of coffee shop "muscling in on the high street" in Wells. However, how hypocritical can she be as it was only two weeks ago she was pictured opening the new Waitrose in Wells, which has, yes you guessed it, a new coffee shop. If this was not enough, instead of supporting local independent coffee shops in Wells, as I understand it she holds her residents' surgeries in a chain brand in the city.
If Ms Munt can't put in the work to check her facts, if she can't take the time to engage with local authorities, then how can she possibly work in the best interests of residents in the Wells constituency?
I ask readers: is it time for a change?