Following the Swindon Labour Group highlighting the Liberal Democrat Councillors poor attendance record in the last Municipal Year (from May 2012 to May 2013), Swindon Council’s website shows that Lib Dem Councillor, Dave Wood, has continued to not attend Council Meetings, with him being the only Swindon Councillor since May this year that has failed to attend even one council meeting he was expected to attend.
Following the Swindon Labour Group highlighting the Liberal Democrat Councillors poor attendance record in the last Municipal Year (from May 2012 to May 2013), Swindon Council’s website shows that Lib Dem Councillor, Dave Wood, has continued to not attend Council Meetings, with him being the only Swindon Councillor since May this year that has failed to attend even one council meeting he was expected to attend.
Councillor Wood’s poor attendance record is in spite of the Councillor receiving a basic councillor allowance of £7,710, plus £4,235 as a Special Responsibility Allowance for being Chair of a Council Committee.
Councillor Jim Grant, the Swindon Labour Group Leader, said: “I am astonished that despite being reprimanded earlier this year about his terrible attendance last year, Councillor Wood has continued to fail to attend important council meetings. Indeed, according to the Swindon Council website, he is the only Swindon Councillor to have failed to attend at least one meeting he was expected to attend since the start of the Municipal Year.
To be the only councillor at this stage of the year to have failed to attend even one meeting he was expected to is very, very poor, not to mention his awful attendance in the previous year. And this Councillor is being paid from the public purse nearly £12,000.
I think Councillor Wood needs to make up his mind. If he wants to be a Councillor then he needs to attend council meetings and if he doesn’t he should resign his seat and let somebody else make a go of it. Either way the current situation where he is picking up a £12,000 allowance while attending no meetings is an intolerable situation.”
*Lib Dem Councillor, Dave Wood, has attended one Standards Panel Meeting since May 2013, which Swindon Borough do not consider to be a meeting he is expected to attend according to its website and are organised on an ad hoc basis. Attendance at these meetings are therefore not included on the Councillors Attendance webpage on the Swindon Council website.