Consultants' spending needs to be checked

David Mitchell, Director of Council Skills, on the lack of rigour on council spending on consultants

Last time there were deep cuts, the newspapers had stories of swimming pools and libraries being sold off, staff being made redundant and the inevitable union strikes.

"I am forced to do this," said Linda Bellos, Leader of Lambeth Council in 1988.  "If you can find any other way to make cuts without them hurting the people we care about then tell me." She was quickly removed from the leadership, but the problem remained.

Finding savings is a hard process but perhaps I might give you an alternative taret - the consultants.

Tower Hamlets, North Lincolnshire, Swansea, Bromsgrove are all councils that have asked "how much do consultants cost and are we spending too much?" They have come to the same conclusion - "No. They are necessary but we can make some improvements."

If they had asked a different question, such as "Do we get the best advice we pay for" then the answer would most probably be a documented catalogue of horror stories that most public authorities would try to suppress.

Rise and fall of a New Labour star

Cllr David Meikle, a Conservative councillor on Glasgow City Council, reports on the resignation of the Labour council leader Steven Purcell. It is not just a personal matter: Glasgow should be told the truth.

If you a regular reader of blogs and online Scottish media, you will be aware that the high profile Labour politician, Steven Purcell, dramatically stepped down as Leader of Glasgow City Council last Tuesday and resigned as a Councillor for the Drumchapel/Anniesland Ward later in the week. If, however, you rely on London-based media you probably won't even have heard of Steven Purcell and the shocking scandal that led to the demise of one of Labour's rising stars in Scotland.

I'm a Conservative Councillor in Glasgow and have been stunned by the revelations in the media surrounding Steven Purcell's departure from public life. I have taken until now to comment because of the amount of confusion and rumour over the past few days, particularly when an official statement was released on Tuesday that Purcell stepped down as Leader of Scotland's biggest local authority because of "stress and exhaustion" with a recent expenses scandal and heavy workload being blamed.

It was then reported in the print and television media that Glasgow City Council was set to release a statement saying Steven Purcell was resigning as Leader because he had a "chemical dependency" and was being "treated for drink and drugs". However, according to the press, Purcell drafted in his own PR and legal team who instead cited "stress" despite it being confirmed that Purcell was in a top drug and alcohol rehab clinic last weekend following, what journalists claim, was a "breakdown". To add to this it has been reported that Purcell went missing from the clinic and police were called in to search for him. According to media stories, Purcell turned up "soaking wet" and it was feared he "attempted suicide".

Oscars for councillors

The Local Government Information Unit is holding an Oscars for local councillors. I think these awards ceremonies are fine provided no Council Taxpayers are harmed as a result.

Anyway hats off to the following Conservative nominees - especially Cllr Tierney whose contributions to this site are much appreciated.

Leader of the Year: Cllr Martin Hill, (Lincolnshire.) Cllr Mike Jones, (Cheshire West and Chester.) Cllr Jane Scott, (Wiltshire.)

Young councillor of the Year. Cllr Sean Anstree (Trafford), Cllr Jonathan Ash-Edwards (Mid Sussex), Cllr Darryl Nicholas (Exmouth.)

New councillor of the Year. Cllr Ivan Jennings (Stafford.)

Scrutineer of the Year. Cllr Deidre Alden (Bimingham.) Cllr Christopher Buckmaster (Kensington and Chelsea.) Cllr Stanley Sheinwald (Harrow.)

Online councillor of the Year. Cllr Ross Grant (Leicester), Cllr Steve Tierney (Cambridgeshire).

Community champion of the Year. Cllr John Thompson (Wiltshire.)

Sustainability councillor of the Year. Cllr Derrick Ashley (Hertfordshire.) Cllr Jonathan Coupe (Trafford), Cllr Amrit Mediratta (Three Rivers.)

Award for outstanding contribution to financial performance. Cllr Sarah Candy (Tendring), Cllr Thomas Fairhead (Kensington and Chelsea), Cllr Martin Wilson (South Northamptonshire.)

My main concern is the astonishing oversight that I don't seem to be on any of the lists. Online councillor? Has any other councillor blogged more frequently or won more hits? Contribution to financial performance? What about my seminal 100 ways to cut the Council tax without cutting key services? Perhaps the LGIU had some reservations about No. 29.

How to get younger councillors

Cllr Gareth Anderson says young members should be brought into the mainstream and treated the same as everyone else - not kept in segregated Conservative Future branches.

“Gareth, how did you do it?” read the uncommonly short text I received from a fellow councillor before Christmas. He is in his mid twenties, has been elected to our council for 18 months now, and was coming to the end of his first term of teacher training; a situation that closely resembled mine when I was first elected in 2002.

Doing your PGCE is undoubtedly a tough experience. You are learning a new profession, usually in the alien environment of a school you have never heard of, working with teachers who are eager to help you but pressed for time, facing students who are trying it on because you’re the new adult in the room, drowning in masses of meaningless new Labour-inspired paperwork, and writing lesson plans until the early hours, all whilst trying to lead your normal life.

If you then add on being a local councillor, and a new one at that, your head can easily feel a bit mashed-up.

The most recent census of councillors showed that the average age was 59 and only 13% were aged under 45. When you can both vote and stand for election at 18, that figure is pretty shocking. Younger councillors are also much less likely to stand for re-election too.

But it isn’t rocket science to both recruit younger people to stand for election and then keep them beyond their first term. The Conservatives here in Cheshire West & Chester have a better than average record; five of us are 30 or under and two of us have already faced re-election.

So here are my top suggestions to get new, younger blood onto your council:

Councillors invited to conference at golf course

Seldom can a day go by without a conference somewhere in the United Kingdom full of councillors whose hefty fees and travel expenses have been funded by their Council Taxpayers.

My email box gets clogged with invitations. What about a conference organised by a group called CSS? It is on the theme "Managing Today. Shaping Tomorrow." The "keynote speaker" is Lord Hunt, the Deputy Leader of the House of Lords. Perhaps an even greater attraction is that it takes place at The Belfry Hotel and Golf Course. The cost to the Council Taxpayer is £399 for every councillor and council officer who tees up.

One would hope that the Local Government Chronicle would expose this sort of nonsense. But the trouble is they are cashing in themselves. Here's another email. Would I like to attend a conference organised by the Local Government Chronicle about "the changing demands of overview and scrutiny." ("Scrutiny is very much the lion that hasn't roared," John Denham Communities Secretary.) I could listen to the Regional Scrutiny Manager of the West Midlands Regional Assembly, the Interim Head of Overview and Scrutiny for Hackney Council, the Local Government Minister Rosie Winterton and many more. I think if I did so I would lose the will to live. I would also lose the decent, hard pressed Council Taxpayers of Hammersmith and Fulham the sum of £599.

So I think I will give it a miss.

Tory TA councillor does case work on frontline in Afghanistan

Cllr David Reynolds, a Conservative councillor in Plymouth, has written for First, the LGA magazine, on the challenge of combining that role with also being a reservist in the Territorial Army - he is a Lieutenant captain Colonel in the Parachute Regiment.

Of serving in southern Afghanistan, he writes:

"It was important to me that I maintained communications with constituents in Plymouth. The city council was able to re-direct my emails to my civilian laptop and whenever the opportunity arose I answered emails on issues ranging from rubbish in the streets to more serious matters. It was a simple and effective process which worked so well that one night, after a particularly bad day when we had lost three soldiers and several more had been injured, as well as attacks on the base, I checked my emails to see a message from council officers warning staff to be careful on the roads after heavy rain had flooded a key route in the city. That raised a smile!"

Rather motivational for the rest of us to keep on top of our case work, isn't it?

Eric Pickles answers more of your questions

We have already published the first installment of answers to the questions you recently posed about local government reorganisation to shadow communities and local government secretary, Eric Pickles. Here is his second set of answers, covering how Conservative councils can be Conservative, local councils' use of anti-terrorism powers to spy one people, the Conservative revival in the north of England and the regularity of rubbish collections.

His final responses will be published tomorrow morning.

Questions from David Cooper and Deborah: What are your recommendations for strengthening the resolve of Conservative councillors, especially those in authorities that have recently changed hands, to deal with executive officers who either drag their feet over plans for efficiencies and savings or condone/encourage unacceptable treatment of council taxpayers in the name of the council? And how should the Conservative Party deal with those councillors who wore blue rosettes to get elected but who do not follow Conservative principles?

Eric Pickles: I believe in democracy, and as such I think elected representatives should make decisions in the interest of their communities, not unelected and unaccountable officials. The first question I always ask our council leaders is 'how would your electorate know you are a Conservative council?' It is surprising how many don't have an answer. It was the case that some of our Councils were delivering a version of Labour lite – delivering the government's agenda in an efficient and effective way that you would expect from a Tory council. But the time has come to break the consensus. I recently called on out councillors to "just say no" to the government if a Whitehall proposal wasn't in the best interests of their electorate. I am delighted that many of my local government colleagues have accepted that challenge. The clear illustration of this is the number of councils who have signed up to our council tax freeze policy. Those Councils make me extremely proud.

Councillors more likely to get media training than financial management skills

A survey of 413 local councillors by ComRes for the Local Government Chronicle reveals that the answer is, unfortunately 'C':

• 61% had received media training;
• 51% had received training in community engagement;
• Just 49% had received financial management training.

The survey also found that (1) Labour councillors were less welcoming of new councillors than Conservatives and (2) bullying is a real problem in many town halls.  More on the survey here.