Northumberland Council paying out £½m to save money

Aug 14 2010 by David Black, The Journal

A CASH-strapped council has come under fire for paying consultants £513,000 in a cost-cutting exercise designed to save money.

Northumberland County Council has been landed with the bill by specialist recruitment consultants Gatenby Sanderson for five months’ work on the shake-up – which it is claimed will eventually save the authority up to £1.5m a year.

Gatenby Sanderson – described as one of the UK's leading executive search and selection consultancies – were brought in April to head-hunt new senior officers for the council even though it had just paid off 12 of its most senior officers.

Their bill to date is £512,932, which includes the cost of interim appointments to cover the work of some of those let go.

The final cost to the council will be higher as the work has not yet been completed.

Yesterday concerns were voiced about the spending at a time when the authority is facing £40m in budget cuts over the next year and is planning to axe 1,000 jobs.

Council leader Jeff Reid said Gatenby Sanderson was doing a good job and its independent expertise was essential to ensuring that the management shake-up was completed effectively.

But yesterday Conservative group leader Peter Jackson said he was extremely concerned to hear that so much was being spent on hiring the company.

He said: “This is something we raised at the last budget because we feel that the council should concentrate more on using its own resources and minimise the cost of expensive external consultants.”