Councillors need more guidance on devolution to stop them ‘getting in a pickle’, one says.

A cross-party debate saw Clr David Hall urging Cabinet release some information after the first of the District Committees has some teething problems.

District Committees will be at the forefront of community relations as Kirklees looks to devolve power and services.

But Clr Hall, Conservative deputy leader, said the first meeting, in Batley and Spen, didn’t show the council in the best light.

Speaking at the Resources Scrutiny Panel said: “From the response to the first public meeting we’re not going to be taken seriously as many asked ‘what are we doing?’ We got in a real pickle, councillors weren’t happy, Cabinet members didn’t seem happy and the public weren’t happy.

“We’ve had our first meeting before we even know what we’re going to be doing. I don’t want it to be like that because we need to get the public on side and they won’t be if the second meeting is like the first.”

Clr David Ridgway, Colne Valley Liberal Democrat, asked: “We were told that this devolved package will include streetscene services, so are we getting that or not?”

He said that the Rural Kirklees committee was, geographically, around the size of two constituencies while others were much smaller, adding: “We, by far, have the largest road surfaces to be maintained, are we getting an appropriate share of money or a 25% split?

“This needs serious consideration and serious answers otherwise in the short term the district committees will just be a talking shop and in the long term they will become nothing.”

During the meeting, Clr Naheed Mather, Dalton Labour and chair of the Huddersfield District Committee, said they were still working through ideas for devolution.

Clr Mather said: “There is a huge debate about how we operate, whether everything is fair and equal or targeting provision at where it’s needed most. We are still looking at the budgets.”

A Policy Committee meeting in October will debate the future District Committee model, with a decision made by Full Council in December. In the meantime, the committees will operate like the old Area Committees: public meetings with the chance for residents to ask questions of councillors, hear updates about council and communtiy work.