IT is now some two-and-a-half years ago, when Mayor, and therefore non-party political, I received information that led to serious concerns within Cheshire East.

As is well known, I took the position as stated in the Constitution to be ‘the conscience of the council’ and despite a great deal of pain, struggled through that autumn gradually receiving more and more information until finally the police came in.

Since that time, the police have been investigating that and other matters, and so I was very grateful to learn that the relevant file has been sent by the police to the Crown Prosecution Service.

None of this would have been possible without the very real co-operation, despite endless criticism by many, of the senior people in the council - that is the leader, Rachel Bailey, and the cabinet and the acting chief executive, Kath O’Dwyer and other senior officers.

Only time will tell what the CPS decides, but I would like to pay tribute to the Conservative-led council for its full support to the enquiry at this very challenging time.

Despite all this the work of the council has continued and the council has won a number of awards; great strides have been and are being made to ensure it is a good place to work and live and the responsibilities of the council to its citizens are being met, notwithstanding the very challenging finances that all councils are facing.

Hilda Gaddum Councillor for Sutton