The deafening silence over council bonuses (From Daily Echo)

Council leader refuses to answer Daily Echo questions

3:40pm Saturday 3rd July 2010 in Romsey

Friday's Daily Echo

A WALL of silence has gone up around Hampshire County Council over how controversial secret bonus payments were paid to top executives.

Council leader Ken Thornber has again refused to speak to the Daily Echo despite numerous requests over the past three days, instead choosing only to issue a brief statement.

He did find time however to appear on television in an attempt to justify what he describes as the “special recognition payments”.

Attempts to contact every member of the all-powerful Cabinet have failed to shed light on how the decision over who received the bonuses had been made, with the majority failing to answer our calls.

Of the three who did stick their heads above the parapet, one refused to comment before hanging up the phone and two could not remember whether discussions had taken place.

As reported in yesterday’s Daily Echo, Cllr Thornber has faced calls to resign from his Liberal Democrat opponents after he previously denied his authority paid any bonuses.

There have also been demands for an inquiry after it emerged that Cllr Thornber authorised handing out the £87,000 at a time when hundreds of council workers had their pay cut as part of a new salary structure and the world was plunged into a financial crisis.

Despite Hampshire County Council spending £858,000 a year of taxpayers’ money on its communications team, they refused to answer questions on how the leader was able to hand out huge bonuses, apparently without the knowledge of fellow councillors, and then denied his authority paid bonuses to staff.

The press office said there was “nothing more to say” on the matter and said it was not possible to set up a meeting with Cllr Thornber.

Cllr Colin Davidovitz, who received £30,114 of taxpayers’ money last year as the council’s executive member for communications and efficiency, refused to make any comment and put the phone down before the Daily Echo could ask any more questions.

Deputy leader Roy Perry claimed he could “not recall” whether discussions had taken place with Cllr Thornber, who himself received £41,089 in allowances in the last financial year, over the controversial payments.

He said he would not actively encourage an inquiry in to the matter – though he suggested the council’s select committee for policy and resources was free to look into the issue. That committee is chaired by Conservative Cllr Keith Chapman.

Fellow Cabinet member Margaret Snaith-Tempia, who received £29,466 of taxpayers’ money last year as the council’s executive member for culture and recreation, said: “I don’t remember anything about this at all.”

Hampshire’s Conservative MPs were also keeping a low profile in the wake of revelations about the Tory run county council.

Julian Lewis agreed to speak to the Daily Echo to discuss the scandal but instead issued a brief statement in which he merely called for the payments to be deferred.

Dr Lewis, who represents New Forest East, said: “While I realise that these top officers have done an excellent job, saving £65m in the past five years and being sought after – for example – to sort out the ‘Baby Peter’ case in Haringey, it is obvious that any extra rewards for their achievements should be deferred until the economic situation improves and people on much more modest salaries and wages are not being forced to make ends meet.”

Calls to New Forest West MP Desmond Swayne, Fareham MP Mark Hoban, Gosport MP Caroline Dinenage and Winch-ester MP Steve Brine were not returned. Barry Rickman, leader of the Conservative-controlled New Forest District Council, said he was “shocked and surprised” but declined to make any further comment.

The failure to explain the protocol behind the decision-making process and the power held by the leader has been slammed by the Taxpayers Alliance. Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the Taxpayers Alliance, said: “Taxpayers have a right to know how their money is being spent.

“It is both infuriating and unreasonable that communications staff are refusing this information when their wages also come straight from taxpayers pockets. Without transparency about how these decisions are made on bonus payments, there can be no accountability.”

• THE Daily Echo would like to clarify that Hampshire County Council’s £204,000-a-year chief executive is called Andrew Smith, not Andrew Green as we referred to him in yesterday’s End of the Week column.