Sir - The Oxford Times is correct to highlight the power of the scrutiny system in local government (Editorial, November 9) and its importance in the forthcoming flood inquiry of the county council.

However, it is not at all clear that the ruling Tory group realises the true value and importance of the scrutiny process when they continue to insist that all scrutiny committees are chaired by their own members.

This should be contrasted with the Vale of White Horse District Council where the chair of the scrutiny committee is the leader of the Conservative opposition. Indeed, the 2006 survey of the independent Centre for Public Scrutiny reveals that "the Liberal Democrat controlled authorities are the ones most likely to share chair appointments amongst opposition groups".

In Parliament, the Select Committees, the equivalent of scrutiny, are in some instances chaired by opposition members. In view of this, it is difficult to understand the reluctance of the Oxfordshire cabinet to implement a more democratic scrutiny process. Concerning the flooding in July, your article also omitted to mention that the Lib Dems urgent motion on flooding at the September council meeting was deferred until November because the council "ran out of time". This has meant that valuable time has been lost in coming up with pragmatic proposals to minimise the effects of any future flooding in Oxfordshire.

Zoé Patrick, Leader of the Opposition, Oxfordshire County Council