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Dec 2021

Politics

Call for greater transparency in Harrogate hospital elections

Published: 15 Dec 2021, 14:03 GMT

by John Plummer

A member of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust says candidates seeking election as governors to the trust should be obliged to declare past as well as current political affiliations. Three vacant positions as governors are currently being elected.

Harrogate District Hospital.

Candidates standing for election as governors of the organisation that runs Harrogate District Hospital should be required to declare past political affiliations, according to a voter.

Governors represent the interests of the membership of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, which includes staff and members of the public. Members have the opportunity to contribute to how the hospital is run.

There are 24 governors in total and voting closes tomorrow for three vacant positions. Two are for Harrogate and surrounding villages and one is for Knaresborough and east district. Candidates must live in the area they represent.

Colin Harrison, who is a member of the trust and a Knaresborough resident, said he was surprised that John Batt — who is standing for the Knaresborough vacancy — had not declared his past involvement with the Conservative Party.

Mr Batt's candidate's statement describes him as a retired IT consultant who has been elected to Knaresborough Town Council, North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council. But it does not mention he was a member of the Conservative Party.

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Trust rules oblige candidates only to declare current political affiliations so there is no suggestion of wrongdoing.

Rule change

Mr Harrison said he accepted there was no wrongdoing but called for the rules to be changed to require candidates to declare past as well as current political affiliations. He added:

"I live in the Knaresborough and east district, and I am therefore entitled to vote in the election, and I am in receipt of the election documents.

"I have never, to my certain knowledge, met Mr Batt, or either of the two other candidates, but it clearly states on the Candidates' Election Statements three caveats as follows: 'Declaration of Interests', 'Political Party' and 'Financial or other interest in the Trust:'. All three candidates have answered 'None' to all three of the caveats.

"I find this to be somewhat difficult to reconcile with Mr Batt's high-profile political background and involvement with the Conservative Party, although by the same token, I have no knowledge of the background of the other candidates other than what appears on the statement.

"It raises the much wider issue of transparency in situations like this. Maybe, in the spirit of openness, there should be a rule change."

A trust spokesman said it had been informed by Mr Batt that he left the Conservative Party in 2019 and has had no contact with the party, nor paid any subscriptions or donations to it, since. The spokesman added:

“Our election procedure for trust governors follows the model election rules set out in our constitution and candidates must state on the nominee form if they are a member of a political party, and if so, which party.

"We are unaware of any NHS trust which asks candidates who wish to become a trust governor to declare their past political affiliations.”

The Stray Ferret asked the trust to contact Mr Batt to see if he wished to comment but we did not receive a response from him.

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Call for greater transparency in Harrogate hospital elections

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Rule change