Jobs cut Northumberland Council in office revamp row
Sep 13 2010 by David Black, The Journal
A CASH-STRAPPED council has come under fire for spending tens of thousands of pounds on office improvements for senior managers at a time when it is making massive budget cuts and axeing jobs.
Northumberland County Council is currently spending more than £80,000 on an internal revamp at its headquarters at County Hall in Morpeth to provide office space for the unitary authority’s new deputy chief executive Kate Roe.
It comes as the council is in the midst of finding more than £56m in budget savings over two years, and planning to axe up to 1,000 posts, including the likelihood of compulsory redundancies. The £80,000 spending was branded “shocking and absolutely disgraceful” by Grant Davey, leader of the Labour group on the Liberal Democrat-controlled authority.
The expenditure was revealed just days after a £10.5m package of in-year savings for 2010/11 was tabled by the council’s executive in response to Government demands to help slash public spending.
The council has already attracted criticism for spending more than £500,000 on paying external consultants to oversee a shake-up of senior management aimed at saving £1.2m and making a £100,000 loss on a horse show this summer.
Yesterday, Coun Davey said the office area at County Hall had proved adequate for a previous senior manager, who has now left the authority.
