By Ivan Morris Poxton

Copyright grimsbytelegraph

The chair of a key scrutiny panel whose resignation has been called for amid claims of ‘misinformation’ says “families can’t afford political games”. Cllr Matt Patrick ( Labour – Heneage Ward) has argued Cllr Nicola Aisthorpe’s ( Liberal Democrat – East Marsh) position as North East Lincolnshire Council ‘s communities scrutiny panel chair is untenable because of allegations of “completely false” information being made in a Facebook post. Cllr Aisthorpe posted about the panel’s discussion of a food poverty assessment by the authority. The assessment precedes the council forming its food poverty action plan. Concern was expressed about when that would be published. It is now set for early 2026. In the September 7 post, Cllr Aisthorpe wrote that she pushed for the delay to be formally recorded as a risk, adding: “Labour and Tory councillors hesitated, but in the end backed the proposal.” Labour have objected to this as misinformation but Cllr Aisthorpe says she makes “no apology for raising the alarm about yet another year of delay” and claimed “other councillors are more interested in personal attacks”. “This allegation is completely false,” said Cllr Patrick. “At the meeting, I’m confident that we were all pretty unanimously supportive of the principle, it’s just it was a constitutional impossibility of what Cllr Aisthorpe was asking.” As previously covered by Grimsby Live , Cllr Aisthorpe proposed the delay was formally recorded as a risk in the food poverty assessment report. But Cllr Patrick questioned if this was allowed. The monitoring officer confirmed it was not. The panel could itself note the delay as a risk, which it did . Cllr Aisthorpe has said by any reasonable definition there was hesitation, even after her proposal was amended. Cllr Patrick said he was “very disappointed that over a year into that role, Cllr Aisthorpe didn’t actually know this is how the committee is actually supposed to function”. He claimed the social media post brought the council “into disrepute”, was dishonest, and went against the Nolan Principles. These are seven principles that cover the ethical framework that public office holders should follow, including integrity and honesty. “Therefore, I believe her position as chair is untenable and I believe with immediate effect, she needs to step down,” argued Cllr Patrick, who is the panel’s vice-chair. “Families can’t afford political games, they need urgent action on food poverty now,” said Cllr Aisthorpe. She pointed out she warned at scrutiny it had been three years since having a food poverty action plan was agreed at full council. “The delay is a serious risk to struggling families. Parents are still battling to put food on the table, bills keep rising, and pensioners have even had money taken from their winter fuel allowance without being repaid.” She welcomed the depth of evidence in the report discussed by the panel, but it did not recognise the delay as a risk. “Leaving out such a critical detail is extraordinary. I pressed for it to be recorded because families deserve honesty, not paperwork that glosses over reality.” She acknowledged her initial proposal was advised as out of scope and then amended. “My role is to stretch scrutiny as far as it will go to protect residents, because families can’t eat red tape,” Cllr Aisthorpe said. “Support in principle is not the same as support in action. When I amended my proposal and asked for a seconder, there was silence,” she said, and noted a Conservative councillor “eventually stepped in”, adding: “By any reasonable definition, that is hesitation.” “I make no apology for raising the alarm about yet another year of delay, or for encouraging the panel to achieve the best possible outcome for residents”, Cllr Aisthorpe said. “What disappoints me most is that while I’m pushing for solutions, other councillors are more interested in personal attacks.” Cllr Ian Lindley (Conservative – Scartho) was the seconder to the amended proposal. Before seconding, he said it was “absolutely vital” to get the action plan before the panel in January to March, ahead of the May local elections pre-election period.