A COUNCIL Tory group leader has accused its senior officials of failing to answer questions from his members on special scrutiny committees.

Cllr John Slater raised the issue at Blackburn with Darwen Borough's full Council Forum, branding the situation 'disgraceful'.

Last year the authority's Conservative group boycotted scrutiny committees for several months in a dispute over the allocation of their chairmanships.

Labour councillors hit back by accusing Tory councillors of still failing to attend the meetings.

Cllr Slater told Thursday's meeting: "My members have gone to the scrutiny committees, asked questions of the directors and still not got answers.

"I just think it's not good enough.

"If we're coming back to scrutiny to scrutinise then the least we could do is get the answers to the questions that we ask.

"All of them have been asked at scrutinies to directors. No-one has expected the director to know the answer straight away but I think it's disgraceful that those directors who get paid a lot of money from this council cannot even be bothered to reply to my members.

"If it carries on I will then question again what is the point of scrutiny."

Borough education boss Cllr Julie Gunn said: "I'm really surprised to hear you say that John because at the last two scrutiny committees that I have attended there hasn't been one opposition member.

"What I am saying John is that you need to ensure that your members are at all the scrutiny committees.

"I guarantee that if you ask a question of me or any of my officers, you'll get an answer."

Tory group finance spokesman Cllr Neil Slater said: "I asked questions at policy and resources scrutiny committee on finance and I am still waiting for the answers. The questions were on EastzEast, The Reel Cinema, and how much in capital receipts has this council received since 2016."

Cllr Tony Humphrys, who chairs the policy and resources scrutiny committee, defended the officers and said he would ensure Cllr Neil Slater got his answers after the finance officers has researched them, adding that it was not their job to 'make policy on the hoof'.