David O’Toole became a councillor on 3rd May 1979. In June 2020, that’s 41 years after he started to represent Aughton he has received “Online training presentations and information: Questioning Skills for Scrutiny”.
We discovered the course was “Restricted content. This content can be viewed free of charge but you do need to be logged in to a follower or member account to view the page”.
And we discovered the course might contain “The ability to ask good, pertinent questions lies at the heart of successful and effective scrutiny. It is not a skill that any councillor automatically possesses once elected. Good questioning requires preparation, reflection, the ability to listen and skill in thinking on your feet. It also requires a keen understanding of what questions will result in answers that will allow scrutiny to get hold of the evidence it needs to make a difference to local people’s lives”.
Perhaps waiting for 41 years for such training might be a little late to make any difference to the lives of local Aughton people?
