• WE saw last month the Camden Council’s latest sham consultation.

The officer controlling the “meeting” about plans to close Queen’s Crescent and Grafton Road only allowed council officers and councillors to speak. Now more sham.

The council has set up a Carlton and Rhyl community provision working group. The council-headed notepaper lists 12 members; all of whom, apart from two governors, are either council officers or councillors.

We, two members of the Carlton action groups, one a carer of Carlton pupils and one with considerable local community action experience, were asked by the co-chairs to join.

The action groups had a series of questions about the working group; including about the council-dominated membership, “confidentiality”, authority, and purpose of the group. Answers were not provided.

One of us has health problems and asked the co-chairs to acknowledge these in case of the need for reasonable adjustments as required by law.

The co-chairs repeatedly refused to accept that one of us was a “vulnerable person”.

The action groups invited both co-chairs to their regular weekly meetings. One of the co-chairs attended one meeting and told the groups that the invitation was being withdrawn, but refused to give reasons.

In a subsequent letter to the two action groups the two co-chairs refused to have any further communication on membership.

We conclude that the invitations were never genuine ones and somehow the fact that one of us had sought recognition as having disabilities was unacceptable.

It is not clear whether other members of the working group are aware of this exclusion and support it. As it is a council working group perhaps Cllr Angela Mason can let the public know the reasons for our exclusion.

Why does this working group not have any representatives from Carlton’s parent and carers or from the Gospel Oak community to contribute to discussions on the community provision needed locally?

MICK FARRANT
Chair Carlton Community Action Group

SALLY KELLNER
Co-chair, Carlton Parents’ & Carers’ Action Group