SCOTTISH Office Ministers are coming under pressure to guarantee that

outstanding complaints by members of the public against the actions of

the present regional and district councils will not simply be wiped out

when the planned new single tier councils take over in May 1996.

West Lothian Labour MP Tam Dalyell has taken up the cause and written

to Scottish Local Government Minister Allan Stewart asking him if the

problem has been addressed.

He intends to raise this matter and many others, he warns the

Government, when a bill to implement the planned reorganisation is

placed before Parliament, probably towards the end of the year.

Concern about this aspect of the reform has also been expressed by the

Local Government Ombudsman, Mr Robert Peggie, who says he is anxious to

protect the interests of the individual citizen.

In his letter to the Minister, Mr Dalyell, who is a strong opponent of

the planned reorganisation, has asked if the slate is to be wiped clean

over unresolved complaints. He also asks: ''Is there not a moral

difficulty in finding an authority guilty of actions not perpetrated by

that authority?''

The present reorganisation, unlike the previous reform based on the

Wheatley proposals, was being attempted in a slapdash way, Mr Dalyell

claimed yesterday. ''At committee stage, a number of us will parade

every anomaly,'' he warned.

Mr Peggie said yesterday that it could be expected that the Obudsman's

office would have a series of complaints files open when the new

councils were scheduled to take over. He hoped some form of transitional

arrangements could be agreed to carry forward the responsibility to deal

with complaints and ensure that people got proper redress.

Meanwhile, a policy of non-cooperation with the Scottish Office on all

aspects of the planned local government reorganisation has been put into

effect by Labour-controlled East Lothian District Council.

It was agreed by one vote at a special full meeting of the council

yesterday, amid accusations that the authority was just following the

''dead hand'' of Cosla, which had urged the council to consider

supporting the policy of non-cooperation and non-communication with the

Government on the issue.

Alf Young -- Scotland's Business

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