MINUTES before a meeting of Caradon District Council began a motion of no confidence in the Chief Executive Byron Davies, that also called for a radical re-think in the way the local authority is run, was dramatically withdrawn. It had been proposed by Councillor Maureen Emuss, chairman of the Service Performance Scrutiny Panel, who was particularly unhappy about the witholding of a draft report on the council's performance from the Audit Commission. Outside the Council Chamber, while the meeting was still continuing on Wednesday evening, she said that the main reason for her decision was the possibility that a council officer could face dismissal if the motion was not withdrawn. Mrs Emuss said there had been claims that the officer had been the source of an alleged leaking of the document beyond those entitled to know its contents. Yet the person involved had been prepared to sacrifice himself for the sake of others. She added: 'Five minutes before the meeting began I had a one-to-one meeting with the council chairman Councillor Kath Pascoe. 'She is a woman of her word and on her assurance that the situation would be examined, I decided to withdraw the motion.' Mrs. Pascoe said after the meeting: 'I told Mrs Emuss that I would talk to the council leader (Councillor Ron Overd) and try to find some way of sorting the situation out.' However, Mrs Emuss has made it clear that she will not let the matter drop, setting Christmas as her deadline for clearing it up. She added: 'Unless someone makes a stand, we shall lose more staff.' She said that the levels of staff leaving and sickness were both high among people who had served the council well in the past. Mrs Emuss said that although she had not seen the controversial draft report on the council herself, she understood it suggested that Caradon council's overall performance should be rated only 'fair'. Neighbouring North Cornwall Council, on the other hand, was in line to receive an excellent rating. They had stuck to the committee led way of local government, while Caradon had turned recently to the 'unwieldy' cabinet system. Mrs Emuss, the Liberal Democrat member for St Cleer and St. Neot, has been a member of Caradon council for ten years and says she has never known staff morale to be so low. In a written statement she said that, in her opinion, Caradon was still the leading council in Cornwall. The statement went on: 'No one appears to have the courage or resolve to address the situation, thus leading to a lack of confidence and performance. 'I have been told by a fellow councillor that I will be reported to the Standards Board unless I withdraw this motion. This is not a threat to me as I will always stand up against it. 'I urge members and officers to address the situation and put Caradon back were it rightly belongs, at the top of the league again.'
