Leader's plans for a new tier of local government

1:27pm Friday 23rd May 2008

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By Peter Law »

THE Daily Echo can today reveal plans to form a new tier of government in Hampshire - and it is already costing you £100,000.

The powerful new body - dubbed the Hampshire Senate - is being formed to decide how millions of pounds of public money will be spent.

It is the brainchild of county council leader Ken Thornber and would have unelected members such as representatives of the armed forces, hospitals and the business community.

But anti-tax campaigners have branded the concept a waste of money and say the Senate will be another unnecessary tier of bureaucracy.

Cllr Thornber has already had to cancel plans for an all-expenses-paid two-day meeting of the Senate at a top Hampshire hotel, which would have cost more than £15,000, after several councillors pulled out.

THE first act of the Hampshire Senate was to spend more than £15,000 on an all-expenses paid two-day meeting at an elegant country manor.

A dozen "senators" - county, district and borough council leaders from across Hampshire - were told they would enjoy food, drinks and an overnight stay in a hotel.

They could even take advantage of the hotel's indoor pool, spa bath, sauna and diving arena - all courtesy of Hampshire County Council taxpayers.

However, the event, the first of three "master classes" costing £15,125, was cancelled at the last minute after many district and borough council leaders rejected the invitation.

One member of the Senate - which is made up of the 12 county, district and borough council leaders plus public sector representatives - said an overnight stay in a "top hotel" was "totally inappropriate".

"It's sounds like a holiday, I mean why do we need to have a discussions over canapés in the spa? And actually I don't really want to see them in a swimming costume," Eastleigh Borough Council leader Keith House said.

"I cannot understand the need to hold it in one of the top venues in the whole county when we have perfectly good conference venues at any number of local council offices.

"And this is the same organisation which has got one of the lowest spends on adult care and leaves potholes the size of Belgium."

The Taxpayers' Alliance said it was another example of politicians "living it up" at the expense of taxpayers.

"Councillors are already paid generous allowances to compensate them for the time they put in, the last thing the hard-working people of Hampshire need is a massive bill for luxury hotels," campaign director Mark Wallace said. "There is no reason why these councillors couldn't have met during the day and gone to their own homes at night."

New Forest District Council leader Mel Kendall confirmed he did have a booking to stay overnight in the hotel, while Fareham Borough Council leader Sean Woodward said he would have slept in his own bed had he attended.

The Senate "master class" sessions - organised by a team-building consultancy firm - were to be held today and yesterday at the New Place Management Centre in Shirrell Heath, north east of Southampton.

Cllr Thornber yesterday defended the £15,125 conference bill - which he said was being funded by a windfall from interest on council cash reserves - and said no cancellation fee had been incurred.

"We needed 11 district councillors in a neutral venue and I will apologise to no one for that.

"If we held it on county council premises then it would be against the very thing we are trying to do, which is to build a group of leaders together to form a Senate," he said.

No date, or venue, has been re-set for the master class, which Cllr Thornber said was intended to give council leaders an opportunity to establish the "ground rules" for the Senate.