Friendship Agreements with other towns must be backed by a clear framework. Bolton Conservatives has successfully passed an amendment at Council this last week which ensures any future Friendship Agreements with other towns, in the UK or elsewhere, will be subject to a clear policy with explicit criteria.
As it stands, there is no criteria for Friendship Agreements, no detail on what costs may be incurred, or any explanation as to what is hoped to be achieved by entering into one. The Policy Development Group (PDG) that our amendment establishes will aim to rectify this. The policy will have to be approved by a vote of Council later in the year.
Given the controversy with the last Friendship Agreement that Bolton entered into with Kashmir, it’s only right that future ones are discussed at Council. And it was only because of Bolton Conservatives that the two latest agreements, with Sumy in Ukraine and Przemyśl in Poland, were debated at Council.
We will always remain committed to openness and transparency.
Leader of Bolton Conservatives, Cllr Nadim Muslim, said:
A Friendship Agreement though similar but not as serious to twinning, does create a formal bond between two towns. That’s why I believe it deserves not only scrutiny but acceptance of Council.
I appreciate that the matter of the latest agreements, with Sumy in Ukraine and Przemyśl in Poland, were brought to Group Leaders recently. However, it was only at my insistence that it was brought to a meeting of Full Council for a vote. People will recall the controversy, however well intentioned, of the last ‘friendship agreement’ that was signed with Kashmir. Therefore, it behoves Council to avoid any such debacle again.
I fail to understand the rush for these two agreements. We all want to do things in the proper and thorough way.
The debate on Sumy and Przemyśl gave council members the opportunity to understand why they had been selected. But this should not negate the need for any future friendship agreement to have a proper process and framework in place. That is what our amendment seeks to clarify.
