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My request to attend tomorrow's Cornwall Council meeting of the Gyspies & Travellers Working Group has been officially refused.

Richard Williams, the council's monitoring officer, tells me that since the meeting is only "informal" it is not covered by legislation which governs access to information. Richard's a nice guy and I don't take this rebuff personally, but his decision does worry me.

One guiding principle is that if a meeting is attended by elected councillors, supported by a senior council official and is on council premises; if it looks like an official council meeting and sounds like an official council meeting; if it makes official recommendations to another official council meeting; then it probably is an official council meeting.

Since when have councils been able to hold meetings in secret simply by labelling them as "informal?" What next - an "informal" budget meeting?

The meeting, at 1pm in Room 439, will consider ways of progressing the planning issues surrounding potential gypsy and traveller sites. This is a massively controversial issue which will require strong and determined political leadership to resolve.

The "informal" status of the Gypsy & Traveller Working Group will be considered at a meeting of the (currently "formal") Planning Policy Panel on 21st May so maybe we'll find out more then.

But the chaos surrounding Cornwall's approach to the proposed waste incinerator is a good example of what happens in the absence of clear political leadership. I'm afraid I just don't understand how secrecy will help identify sites for gypsies and travellers in a way which will help the council to win the necessary political arguments.