WESTMORLAND and Lonsdale MP Tim Collins has attacked the Government for increasing secrecy in local authorities, claiming it may create a "breeding ground" for inefficiency and corruption.

He says new regulations "sneaked out" by ministers just before Christmas without any fanfare will shut the public and Press out of council chambers.

New local government access to information rules, which came into force this week, allow councillors to take more decisions behind closed doors.

At present anyone can attend council meetings and see council papers three days in advance, but the new Local Government Act restricts this right to only so-called key decisions.

They must either involve a "significant" sum of money - the figure can be set by individual councils - or affect an area covering at least two council wards.

But the shake-up means the public will no longer have an automatic right to attend council meetings dealing with everyday matters or get information in advance of meetings.

Other decision-making changes are forcing councils to scrap the century-old committee system and replace it with Westminster-style executive cabinets, placing power in the hands of a few councillors.

Tory MP Mr Collins hit out at the changes, saying: "There is a real danger that this new culture of secrecy in local councils may create a breeding ground for inefficiency and corruption."

He said the Conservatives were committed to reversing the changes and would require all councils to open their doors to the public.

Cumbria County Council expects to introduce a formal executive cabinet in April, with most day-to-day decisions taken in private by senior councillors.

Council leader Coun Stewart Young said the county was considering how best to publicise those decisions, though he stressed contentious issues would still be decided at open council meetings.

He questioned why the Press and public should attend every council meeting, saying: "If you are going to get people to talk honestly and have a debate and disagree with each other and possibly have their minds changed, it's a lot easier to do that in private than in public."

South Lakeland District Council may switch to a cabinet in the autumn and is drawing up a new constitution, including arrangements for public access to meetings and information.

Director of administration Jim Morrison said he expected SLDC to continue to meet in public, whether councillors were considering key or minor matters.

The Lake District National Park Authority will not have to scrap committees under the legislation, although a working party of members is assessing if change is necessary.

Member services officer Frank Lee said he expected committee meetings would continue to be held in public and papers would still be available in advance.

Eden District Council is awaiting further government guidance on reorganisation because the new legislation includes different procedures for local authorities with populations of under 85,000.