Complaint over fluoridation vote11:50am Wednesday 25th February 2009
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By Jon Reeve »
A FORMER Southampton mayor is being investigated over claims she broke council rules by influencing a vote on controversial plans for fluoridation in the city.
Labour councillor Parvin Damani spoke passionately in favour of the scheme to add fluoride to nearly 200,000 Hampshire residents’ water, and voted to back it when city councillors examined the proposals last November.
But her actions are now being studied after a complaint was lodged arguing she should not have been allowed to join in the debate because she holds a post with the health trust behind the plans.
Anti-fluoride campaigners say her intervention in the meeting was crucial.
John Spottiswoode, chairman of Hampshire Against Fluoridation, said: “The even-handedness of the vote in the city council was undermined and the whole vote should be wiped from the records as unsound, or re-done.”
Southampton was the only council to back the fluoridation plans, which would affect residents in two-thirds of the city, as well as about 36,000 people in Eastleigh, Totton, Netley and Rownhams.
Hampshire County, Eastleigh Borough, New Forest District and Test Valley Borough councils all passed motions opposing the scheme.
“It was an extremely important vote because if Southampton City Council had voted against fluoridation then every single council would have voted against fluoridation,” said Mr Spottiswoode. “That would have killed the whole proposal then and there.
“As it is, Ms Damani could be responsible single-handedly for tipping enough votes to mean that Southampton becomes fluoridated, much against the wishes of the vast majority of citizens.”
Cllr Damani is a member of Southampton City Primary Care Trust’s senior public health team. She works as an equality and human rights advisor.
The trust proposed fluoridation as a way of combating poor dental health among the city’s youngsters, particularly in more deprived areas.
The board of South Central Strategic Health Authority, which oversees the region’s healthcare, will vote on the plans tomorrow.
In a free vote city councillors came out 26 to 18 in favour of fluoridation.
Cllr Steve Sollitt declared an interest and left the meeting because he works as an accountant for the NHS. Cllr Damani also declared an interest as an employee of the health service, but remained, spoke and cast a vote.
She told the meeting. “This is not a poison. Nobody has died from it.”
A council spokesman said the authority is unable to comment or confirm an investigation is ongoing. Cllr Damani declined to comment.
3 comments:
Again we see governmental organisations - setting up a consultation - fail to get the result they desire and push through the proposals nevertheless.
So much for the listening government and her organisations.
"This is not a poison. It never killed anybody"??!!
Well, smoking never killed anybody...cancer does.
Overeating never killed anybody, heart disease does...
Get where I'm going. They dont write on a death certificate "died from superking lights"...Just like when people start dying from fluoride cancers etc, it will be the end product thats listed as cause of death.
This woman is a fool!
I am appalled by the vote in favour of fluoridation for Southampton. Cllr Damani is evidently uninformed that the industrial grade hydrofluorosilic acid added to water supplies is one of the deadliest poisons on the planet, and unaware of the considerable evidence linking its toxicity to life threatening diseases such as cancer, osteoporosis, kidney disease and brain disease. Of course people have died and now the future health of the citizens of Southampton will be severely compromised as a result of this insane decision.
I do not intend to be one of them. As I already have poor bone density, it seems that in order to protect my health, I shall have to invest in an expensive water purification system or move away from the city where I have lived all my life.
The vote should have remained with the wise citizens of Southampton and the horrendous cost of poisoning them diverted to a programme of education and prevention for the families of children with tooth decay, for whom the dubious benefits of mass medication will surely have no impact as they do not drink water anyway!o
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