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Cllr Janet Grauberg |
Union fury at 11m refit
Cash found for office makeover after services and jobs squeeze
UNIONS and campaign groups expressed outrage after the Town Hall’s Lib Dem/Tory bosses approved an £11.6m refit of a council office block last week despite an ‘efficiency’ programme that has seen jobs and some services cut.
The ruling executive authorised the spend to refurbish the headquarters of the housing and social services departments in Bidborough House, Mabledon Place, part of the sprawl of council offices surrounding the town hall.
Finance chief Cllr Janet Grauberg told the New Journal the works, which include an environmental makeover and extra office space, were “good for the planet and good for the tax-payer”.
But she is already facing criticism for pressing on with the “better and cheaper” efficiency programme despite underspending by a massive £14m on services in the last year, creating an unprecedented £30m reserve.
In a letter to council staff sent the day after the decision and seen by the New Journal, acting chief executive Neil Litherland said: “We ended the 2006/07 financial year with an underspend of £14 million.
“I realise this may come as a surprise to many of you – you may also be wondering why we still need to make savings this year.
“However, the majority of this underspend is a one-off and unlikely to happen again.
“We will now look to see whether any budgets that underspent can be reduced, which would lessen the need for savings in other areas.”
He made no mention of the refurbishment.
Yesterday (Wednesday), union spokeswoman Mandy Berger, a convenor for UNISON, said: “There is going to be a seven per cent cut in services and jobs in the New Year and we have already suffered major cuts- this is a question of priorities.
“It is ironic that all the directors and senior managers happen to work in Bidborough House.”
The decision particularly outraged education campaigners, who had been disappointed by an earlier executive decision to let UCL build a new city academy in Swiss Cottage.
Fiona Millar, from the campaign for state education, said: “In a meeting in which they were lobbied by parents desperate for a school south of the Euston Road, they agreed to spend a large capital sum on something like their council offices – if they have got £30m, why aren’t they looking at a school site.”
The Labour opposition has leapt at the chance to question the priorities of the Lib Dems and Tories.
Cllr Theo Blackwell said: “Instead of reversing cuts, front-line staff redundancies or hikes in charges like meals on wheels for pensioners, they have ploughed it back in to a massive new offices programme.
“It makes you wonder where the priorities actually are with the new administration.”
But Cllr Grauberg defended the works, pointing out that the need for the works had been budgeted for back in October, and the cash was coming from capital funds ring-fenced for buildings rather than services.
The council will sell an existing social services office at 79 Camden Road to raise £6m towards the work.
She said: “The reason we’re doing this is that it allows us to use our office space more efficiently, getting the best value out of the asset we have – we think that’s best for the tax-payer. It seems that everyone but Labour knows that if you have assets you have spend money to keep them in shape.” |
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