ALL the councillors on Bournemouth's standards committee can be drawn from one political group, the borough has decided.

The proposal, to remove from the constitution the stipulation that no more than two committee members out of three could come from one party, provoked some criticism from the borough's three opposition councillors.

However it was approved by the constitution steering group last week.

Council leader Cllr John Beesley, head of the Conservative Group, told the group that an increase from three to four councillors on the standards committee, alongside the three non-council members, would allow "flexibility", and enable the board to deal with a "backlog of business".

According to the minutes, he said the members "may not always be an opposition member", although steering group chairman Cllr David Kelsey said a seat "may be offered" to an opposition member.

Last week Green Party councillor Simon Bull said that if there were no opposition member on the committee it could lead to "a perception that one party is looking after its own".

"One has to think about public perception and transparency," he said.