Wednesday 13 October 2010

Does Caesar's wife shop at Sainsbury's?

Cornwall Council's planners meet tomorrow to consider what sort of shopping experience is appropriate for Wadebridge. The options include an even bigger Tesco, a Morrisons on the football field and/or Sainsbury's on council-owned land at Higher Trenant. The Higher Trenant site is surplus to council requirements but its value increases dramatically if it gets planning permission for a supermarket.

The planners, of course, will be advised to banish from their minds any thought of the financial gain to the council should they be minded to approve the Sainsbury's application (and the official recommendation is that they should approve the Sainsbury's bid.) A conflict of interest? Surely councillors are above such things. Of course they are. The fact that Cornwall Council will not be able to afford its Grand Design for refurbishing County Hall at Truro, should the Sainsbury's application fail, will not enter their heads.

I am nevertheless curious as to why members of the council should have been offered the chance to take part in a discount-voucher shopping scheme which allows them to "save 5% off their weekly shopping bills" when they visit either Asda or Sainsburys. The scheme is promoted by a company called Motivano and has been offered to all council staff.

Nothing wrong with offering such corporate deals to staff - large employers, including the BBC, do it all the time. But should this include elected members, who are there to decide controversial issues of policy? Particularly if they have to weigh the merits of one supermarket against another?

I'm sure there is a perfectly straightforward explanation, and have asked Cornwall Council what advice (if any) councillors have been given to avoid any impression of conflicted interests.

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