EVERYWHERE WE LOOK IN LIVERPOOL, THERE SEEMS TO BE A COMMUNITY SERVICE CLOSING OR CRITERIA CHANGING, THAT DIRECTLY AFFECTS THE MOST VULNERABLE PEOPLE IN OUR SOCIETY.
SO THEREFORE IT FOLLOWS IN A MODERN DEMOCRACY, SURELY, THAT THEY SHOULD NOT EXIST?.
WARREN BRADLEY HAS CLEARLY FORGOTTEN WHAT DEMOCRACY ACTUALLY MEANS.
WARREN WANTS HIS FELLOW BACK SCRATCHES , TO BE PAID FOR ASSISTING IN A ROLE THEY ARE ALREADY PAID FOR AS THEY ARE ELECTED COUNCILLORS.
WARREN DOES NOT WANT TO SAVE THE LIVES OF NUMEROUS ELDERLY, INFIRM AND DEMENTIA SUFFERERS, WARREN DOES NOT WANT TO SAVE 80+ LOCAL JOBS.
READ BELOW FOR DAILY POST REPORT.
TORI
Watchdog says NO to £63k of payouts to cllrs, Bradley says
May 19 2008 by Ben Turner, Liverpool Echo
MORE than £63,000 will be given to Liverpool councillors, despite an independent watchdog calling for their roles to be scrapped.
Council Leader Warren Bradley has ordered that 10 executive board assistants continue to receive £6,349 yearly allowances.
The move was today attacked as “a scandalous waste of money” by opposition councillors who said the posts were not constitutionally recognised.
But a defiant Cllr Bradley insisted the staff were worth every penny and played a invaluable role.
To meet government guidelines the council employs an independent panel of officials from the business, voluntary and personnel management sector to scrutinise and advise on the annual levels of allowances for councillors.
The panel spent 18 months scrutinising the council’s assistants attached to 10 executive members whose portfolios range from education and regeneration to the council leader himself.
Their investigation concluded there was “no clear evidence to measure the responsibility which can be assessed to justify the continued payment” of their of £6,349 yearly allowances.
But Cllr Bradley refused to act on the findings and pledged the assistants will continue to be paid.
Today the moved was attacked by Liverpool opposition chiefs.
Labour deputy leader Cllr Paul Brant said: “I think this is a scandalous waste of money on manufactured roles that are not constitutionally recognised. This money should be going elsewhere given all the cuts people are seeing.”
However, Cllr Bradley pointed out that the council had also rejected the independent panel’s advice that council allowances be raised across the board – with allowances frozen this year.
He said: “The assistant executive members do a fantastic job. My own assistant Cllr Tina Gould, for example, does a tremendous amount of work, including deputising for me on occasions when I’m double booked and leading on projects such as our cultural strategy.”
ben.turner@liverpool.com