Cllr Elgood

Liberal Democrats have criticised the council for paying four outgoing Directors at Brighton and Hove City Council severance packages totalling £725,000.

Lib Dem group leader Councillor Paul Elgood said:  
"Residents have repeatedly been told that the council needs to make cuts to key services, such as those to young people.

"This of course comes on top of recruitment costs of £121,000 for the new Directors and the further expense of developing the new 'intelligent commissioning' model and the subsequent restructuring, which has never been costed.  Of course much of this expenditure was not necessary as the council already had a strong senior management team which achieved the authority's best ever ratings.

"One aspect of this saga which must not be forgotten is the lengths the council has gone to avoid the publication of these figures.  It was only after near daily persistence, and even threats to go to government ministers, that the council reluctantly published these figures. Yet residents have the right to know how their money is being spent and if they are receiving value for money. In this case it is very hard to see how such high sums can ever be justified.

"The council is also dragging its feet over the requirement of the Coalition Government to publish all items of expenditure over £500. Residents have a right to see the list of expenditure made by their local council, but as of yet there is no date for the publication of this data in Brighton and Hove.

"If public bodies know that they will have to publish their expenditure, perhaps they will think again about wasting such large sums of public money. In the case of the appointment of the new Directors, this cost should have been stopped by elected members. But only two of the political groups on the council, including the Lib Dems, refused to be part of this incredible waste of money."

For more information about the Liberal Democrats view:
www.brighton-hovelibdems.org.uk