Enfield Council must change the way it works if it is to truly serve the people of the borough.

That is the view of the authority's two political groups as the plans for change were announced.

Leader of the labour-controlled council Jeff Rodin and his Conservative counterpart Terry Neville have both agreed it is out of touch.

Most people are not interested in the council and feel they have no say on issues that affect them.

Cllr Rodin said: ''Many people do not understand the way we do business and how we work.

"They do not know how to get their views across and how to influence decisions we make."

Under the present system committees are elected and meet to decide on various issues.

But Cllr neville admitted the real decisions are made beforehand when the political groups meet privately to decide which way to vote.

This leaves public debate amongst the committee members as meaningless talk.

Cllr Neville said: "I think it's fair to say we've all recognised that for some years the present process has, for some years, been a sham.

"It is little more than theatre for the press and the members of the public who turn up."

The government has recently launched a White Paper about reform in local government which sets out a number of options for change.

Although no firm decisions have been made, the most likely one to be adopted in Enfield is the scrapping of the committees to be replaced with a cabinet system.

Operating in a similar way to central government, the cabinet of lead councillors will be responsible for whole areas of council services.

Remaining councillors would become part of a system to scrutinise cabinet decisions.

It would allow members more time to work with constituents giving residents more chance to get their views across before decisions are made.

There is also a possibility that the public could play a role in the scrutiny process.

One way for this to work could be for community representatives to work alongside members in monitoring decisions.

Enfield Council had already set the wheels of change in motion before the White Paper was published.

Interim measures brought in after the local elections in May have meant fewer committee meetings with officers making more decisions about day to day matters.

While Cllr Rodin and Cllr Neville admitted teething problems, both agreed the interim measures are a step in the right direction.

The White Paper also put forward the option of having a directly elected mayor.

But while Cllr Rodin and Cllr Neville said it may work in some larger authorities, they did not feel it was appropriate for individual London boroughs such as Enfield.

A consultation document about the proposals has been produced.

It is available to residents, community groups, and business people.

Details of how to obtain a consultation document will be available in the council's own Enfield News publication or by calling the Civic Centre on 0181 366 6565.

Comments can be made in writing to:

The Chief Executive, London Borough of Enfield, Civic Centre, Silver Street, Enfield, ENI 3XY.

The closing date for making comments on the proposals is September 30.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.