Political blog, August 26: Council chiefs pay offs under spotlight
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I see the
Government is stepping up its offensive on aspects of public sector
pay with an
announcement that it wants the Audit Commission to examine
pay-offs made to council chief executives who leave one position
with a handsome "golden goodbye" only to crop up in another top
position months later.
We haven't had such a situation in Kent (but who knows) but
there certainly have been departures of senior officers who
have then re-appeared on the local government scene in another
capacity some time later.
Trying to find out the details of
any financial settlements involving such officers is
another matter, however. Whenever I've sought the details using the
Freedom of Information Act, the information has
been blocked by the authority (alright, it's Kent County
Council) which has cited the Data Protection Act
and withheld the details.
With moves afoot to force all councils to disclose the
pay and perks of their top officers, perhaps the Government ought
to consider whether such details should also be in the public
domain.
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I blogged earlier this week that there were feint stirrings
of activity at County Hall after the long summer recess but it
seems I may have been mistaken.
I've previously commented on the decision by KCC to cancel its
next scheduled full council meeting which was due to take place
next Tuesday (Sept 3) on the grounds of "lack of
business."
In my view, KCC could have perhaps used this meeting to try
something different to engage the public in its affairs.
Now two other committee meetings have been cancelled for the
same reason. They are the meeting of Schools Organisation
Advisory Board and the Gypsy and Traveller
Advisory Board, also due to have taken place in
September.I know this can happen but it doesn't look good.
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Still, as the tumbleweed floats through County Hall, I was
kept busy yesterday covering a cabinet meeting at Medway
Council, standing in for my colleague Alan Watkins. (Don't
panic, this is not a permanent transfer - I'm kind of 'on loan'
while Alan recovers from a broken leg.)
It seems Medway has a bit of a problem with its new waste
contract. It has had to suspend a decision on who to award the new
contract to because other bidders in the process have raised
questions about the way the procurement process was conducted. It's
had to offer the current contractor a two-year extension while it
sorts things out.
From the characteristically oblique and rather anodyne report
presented to the cabinet as an "urgent item" it is hard to
detect just how serious this might be.
The counci says it is not uncommon for bidders to ask
questions about the process which begs the question why its
timetable for the contract process didn't factor this in.
Wednesday, August 26 2009
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