Basel Grand Council Basel Grand Council approves audit committee report

After a lengthy discussion, the Basel Grand Council approved the report of its audit committee on Wednesday with just one vote against. The shortcomings in the Basel police force were mentioned several times.

The Grand Council repeatedly criticized the fact that the government's annual report came across as a "glossy PR brochure and not as an accountability report, which also named negative aspects with sufficient clarity. The Government Council had already been made aware of this point several times, said FDP spokesperson Erich Bucher, for example.

Otherwise, the parliamentary group spokespersons deleted individual points of criticism and recommendations already mentioned in the report. Several members of the Grand Council repeatedly highlighted the staff shortages and shortcomings in the police force.

Shortcomings in cybersecurity

In its annual report for 2023, the Control Committee (CC) criticized the shortcomings in the canton's IT and cybersecurity and complained that complaints from the Audit Office were ignored in certain cases. It is also concerned about the large number of vacancies in the cantonal police force and the increasing psychological stress among children and young people.

The comments on the application for a work grant from the writer Alain Claude Sulzer caused a stir even in the neighboring canton of Baselland. He was asked to account for the mention of the word "gypsy" in his draft novel. The head of Basel's culture department is said to have played a key role in this.