WE would like to bring you news this morning about whether Darlington council has decided to sell its five residential old people's homes.

This news will directly affect the 140 people who live in those homes and the hundreds more who are members of their families. It will also affect the 150 people who work in those homes.

This news will also directly affect every single council tax-payer in Darlington because if the council decides to keep the homes, it will have to spend £5m bringing them up to standard - money which, by one method of accounting or another, will eventually come out of the taxes paid by local people.

We would also like to bring you news this morning about whether Darlington Football Club is likely to be granted permission to build its new stadium.

This is news that will directly affect the thousands of people who live in the Neasham Road area of town where the stadium is planned, as well as the 3,000 or so who regularly go to Feethams to watch their team.

Crucial decisions on both these topics of huge public interest were taken last night.

But we cannot bring you the latest news this morning because those decisions were taken behind closed doors. We cannot tell you the cut and thrust of the debate because it too was held behind closed doors. And we cannot tell you the outcome because Darlington council will not reveal its intentions until it has informed all of its non-Cabinet councillors by post.

We do not necessarily blame Darlington council for this state of affairs. It is merely pursuing one of several new modes of council operation put forward by the Government in its reforms of local government. Our Council Watch campaign has sought to uncover some of the more serious worries about secrecy and accountability that are being diminished by the 'reforms'.

However, not informing people of decisions until the post has been is a problem that has so far escaped our attention.

It is quite remarkable that over the weekend the people of Darlington could have tuned in day or night to any one of four or five satellite, digital or cable television stations and seen live up-dates of a fire 1,770ft up a tower in Moscow which is 1,750 miles away, whereas they will have to wait until the post has been to learn the future of their elderly relatives or of their football club.