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Cllr Paul Dimoldenberg |
‘Council overhaul on track’
Tories under fire over appointment of four Group Directors
THE pledge to rid Westminster Council of its culture of bureaucracy has been called into question following the announcement it will appoint four new directors.
Just two months ago council chief executive Mike More sparked fears of a purge after three long-serving council chiefs were forced out of Westminster City Hall on the platform of restructuring.
The move was applauded by the opposition but they say the appointment of four new “Group Directors”, each of whom will take home an annual salary of £135,000, has made the promised shake-up ring hollow.
Mr More has defended the planned appointments – effectively created new roles to be filled by existing members of staff – claiming they are still on target for a £10million saving by 2011.
Under the restructuring process, which is due to start in January, the council will lose around 100 middle managers.
Leader of the Labour group councillor Paul Dimoldenberg said: “At a time of economic difficulty it makes no sense to spend another £800,000 hiring even more senior staff, while front-line services have been starved of funds for years.
“Tenants waiting for housing repairs and elderly people waiting for adaptations to their homes will not be impressed by the appointment of four more highly paid bureaucrats to sort out the mess made by the Conservatives.”
Following his appointment to the council in April, Mr More, has taken little time in flexing his muscles. In October he announced he would flush out the bureaucratic culture to “create a different style of working” by merging four directorates into one super directorate.
He confessed that redundancies would be inevitable as part of the overhaul, with Colin Wilson, the council’s top legal chief, among the first to go.
Mr More said: “I am proposing to make the council a more effective organisation, focusing on front-line services in time for the London Olympics when the world’s attention will be on the city.
“In particular, the council will become less hierarchical, with 100 fewer managers by 2011, most of whom will go through natural turnover.
“This will help deliver around £10million worth of savings to the Westminster taxpayer.
“This restructuring process will start early in the new year with the creation of a smaller executive board of just seven senior members of staff as opposed to the current one which consists of more than 20.
“Residents and businesses should be assured, however, that we will still continue to deliver excellent services all year round.”
Among the other changes ushered in by Mr More is the creation of special council “hubs” around the borough so residents can access several services under one roof. |
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