A CRUCIAL meeting of Caradon District Council on Wednesday, where a motion of no confidence in Chief Executive Byron Davies will be debated, has been condemned by newly elected independent Council Leader Ron Overd. While Mr Davies would make no comment to the Cornish Times over a situation which could lead to his departure, Mr Overd said: 'I think it's a shame it has happened. 'I believe councillors would be better employed using their time and energy considering issues that really matter.' Mr Overd, who is also Mayor of Looe, added that Mr. Davies was doing the job he was appointed to do, even if this did appear to upset some members. He felt the confidence of councillors and staff would be undermined, a feeling which could spread to the public. In fact there are three prongs to the no confidence motion which has been proposed by Councillor Maureen Emuss, Liberal Democrat member for the St. Cleer and St. Neot ward and chairman of the council's Service Performance Security Panel. These are that the council: * has no confidence in the Chief Executive * has no confidence in the cabinet system of governance * takes urgent steps to replace the current structure with a modified committee system. Mr Overd, whose views are echoed by council chairman Kath Pascoe who is also an independent, said that members had supported the cabinet system earlier this year.

He added: 'However, if anyone can come up with a better system, I am prepared to listen.' Liberal Democrat group leader Roger Jones said Caradon should scrap the present cabinet system and go back to decision making by committee. He added that members were 'very supportive' of their officers, although the management structure was not working. Fellow Liberal Democrat member Tony Powell said he thought members had every right to see an Audit Commission draft report which he believed went to the heart of the problem. He went on: 'This is only a draft report and, arguably, does not become an accountable document until an agreed version is produced. 'What concerns me is that by the Chief Executive alerting members to the council's grading of only 'fair' this has led to a proliferation of rumour and counter rumour. 'It appears that in the assessment scores awarded, Caradon may have failed to achieve '4' or 'strong' on the 10 themes which form the basis of the report. 'After an earlier report which alerted the council to weaknesses, particularly in the areas of leadership and management, it is a poor reflection if it has failed to address these issues. 'If statements such as 'the lack of a universal atmosphere of trust and mutual respect between key senior staff is having a corrosive effect on internal leadership' are true, then arguably all members need to know this.' Mr. Powell said he believed the draft report should be issued to all members, together with details of proposed changes. This would enable them to form a proper, balanced judgement.

He went on: 'Sanitising reports seldom achieves anything, and it is clear that we need to take a very long hard look at how we do business, and the means we use to deliver the outcome.' Wednesday's no confidence vote could be finely balanced. Caradon council has 21 independent members, 15 Liberal Democrats, four Conservative, and one Labour member.

- Roy Lipscombe