£7m consultant fee claim sparks upset

9:00am Tuesday 1st May 2012 in News

Millions of pounds of taxpayer’s cash is going on consultants employed by Bradford Council, it has been revealed, as another election row breaks out between politicians.

Bradford West MP George Galloway claimed £7 million was ending up in the pockets of “fat cat consultants” and said that any Respect councillors elected after people go to the polls on Thursday “would do all in their power to root out waste and corruption”.

In response, Bradford Council leader Ian Greenwood said that under Labour Bradford has “for the first time established and published online a clear picture of expenditure on consultants after years of Tory mismanagement of the Council’s finances.”

He said that Mr Galloway had nothing new to offer beyond what was already being done and said that if he had any evidence of corruption, as he has alleged, he should alert the police and the Council immediately.

“It is a very serious allegation to make,” said Coun Greenwood.

“If, as I suspect, he has no such evidence then he should stop his rhetoric and posturing although I know that he will find that very difficult to do.

“We’ll continue to keep the use of consultants under close scrutiny but the actual Council contribution to their use last year was £2.8m not £7m.

“The balance is made up by Government contributions towards things they require us to do in a short space of time and which often need specialist skills.”

Mr Galloway said he would move to scrap the use of consultants if his party enjoyed election success.

“We will do everything in our power to hold a bonfire of the consultants, rather than the present situation where the Council is burning money,” Mr Galloway said.

“It is completely unjustified and an insult to council tax payers struggling to pay their way that this obscene amount of cash ends up in the pockets of fat cat consultants.

“Council services are being slashed at a time when vast sums are being paid out to these companies. This money needs to be invested in the city, for the benefit of the city, rather than boosting the balance sheets of private companies.”

The Council’s Conservative group leader, Councillor Glen Miller, said he agreed too much was being spent, while Liberal Democrat Councillor Jeanette Sunderland said she wanted to know where Mr Galloway got the £7m figure from. Coun MIller said: “The use of consultants is an easy way of getting answers. I think it is a big expense for the taxpayer to be spending extra money on consultants if you see little return for the money spent.”

Coun Sunderland said: “It is good if they want to stop the use of consultants. I would like to see the evidence, but the principle is that we should always challenge unnecessary spending.”

Mr Galloway’s spokesman said his figures came from the Council and showed more than £2 million was spent by its culture and regeneration departments alone.

  • On Thursday two Bradford Council-run leisure centres will be closed temporarily to be used as venues for counting votes in the local elections.

The Leisure Centre, Keighley, will be shut from 3pm and Richard Dunn Sports Centre in Odsal, will be closed from 5pm. Both will re-open as normal from 9am on Friday.

Comments(28)

tyker2 says...
9:09am Tue 1 May 12

7 million:is that all? where has the rest been hidden?

HAVE THE CONSULTANCY COSTS ACTUALLY BEEN HIDDEN IN THE COST OF WORKS TO MINIMISE THE LOOK OF THESE CONSULTANCU COSTS.

I wonder how maany ex employees were paid ' consultancy fees' after they left office?

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straightup says...
9:21am Tue 1 May 12

I wonder why George Galloway's viva Palestine was struck off by companies house... I wonder why the charity commission has said the charity(viva palestine) has been miss managed... And then the same people want to come and run our city.

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Cooperlane2 says...
9:45am Tue 1 May 12

perhaps they ought to employ a group of consultants to work out the true cost of employing consultants.

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webess says...
9:49am Tue 1 May 12

straightup wrote:
I wonder why George Galloway's viva Palestine was struck off by companies house... I wonder why the charity commission has said the charity(viva palestine) has been miss managed... And then the same people want to come and run our city.
Indeed so and the charity "War on Want" went bust under the reign of a well know Respect member.

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somewhereinbradford says...
10:15am Tue 1 May 12

How does anyone know that the police haven't already been alerted??? They wouldn't be sharing it with Cllr Greenwood would they lol.

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Joedavid says...
10:18am Tue 1 May 12

How do those employed by the Council who get more than the Prime Minister justify their wages when they hire consultants. I thought they paid high because they were good and know how to run things, seems they not.

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ertnec says...
10:33am Tue 1 May 12

Who does George Galloway think he is, he may be right in some of his comments but whats the hidden agenda "shah Law" I do beleave. George don't throw stones when your not SNOW WHITE yourself. Please people VOTE for the party who can help us all, don't listen to those at the end of the day have hidden agendas like George Galloway and the Democractic Nationalists who I'm sure the Nazi's went out years ago.

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zippiehippie says...
10:35am Tue 1 May 12

I see the T&A now avoid putting GG's name in the headlines, if at all possible. Give Respect a chance on Thursday! They can't do worse than the shower we've had in for the last twenty years.

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angry bradfordian says...
10:54am Tue 1 May 12

More electioneering nonsense going on then! How does Galloway know they were 'fat cats'? Has he looked into every use?
The term 'consultant' is a bit of a wide ranging description. Usually these people are paid to provide expertise that the council's staff can't provide. Would the people complaining about this rather have the council employing people who aren't fully occupied on the off chance that their skills are required? I suspect that would cost considerably more than £7m.

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straightup says...
12:48pm Tue 1 May 12

zippiehippie wrote:
I see the T&A now avoid putting GG's name in the headlines, if at all possible. Give Respect a chance on Thursday! They can't do worse than the shower we've had in for the last twenty years.
They had a chance in Tower Hamlets,but the people there soon found out that Respect are just show biz...

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BILLTILL says...
12:53pm Tue 1 May 12

angry bradfordian wrote:
More electioneering nonsense going on then! How does Galloway know they were 'fat cats'? Has he looked into every use? The term 'consultant' is a bit of a wide ranging description. Usually these people are paid to provide expertise that the council's staff can't provide. Would the people complaining about this rather have the council employing people who aren't fully occupied on the off chance that their skills are required? I suspect that would cost considerably more than £7m.
What we would rather have are coucil employees who know how to do the job they are paid for .
If the employees had a clue how the real world of business worked instead of sitting on their behinds waiting for an expensive consultant to tell them how to do the job they are paid for ,we would all be much better off.
It is the same iold story of council employees without a clue or real experience sitting around waiting for that big fat early retirement pension and lump sum.

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jozieme says...
2:08pm Tue 1 May 12

I have never not voted, I believe it's our right and as a woman I know that others have died for this freedom we take for granted.I truly believe in 2012 our eyes are finally being opened to the dubious... for want of a better word ,practices that have been taking place in Bradford for at least 20 years..Our City was sold off lock stock and barrel in the 60's demolition took place on an unprecedented scale, we had some great building in the City centre the stone ending up in Oxford! if you ever go there look around at all the Yorkshire stone down there......and to date millions spent on how to bring Bradford back into a city and not a backwater with the only Character building besides the town hall and Alhambra waiting for the gallows!Are we accepting that consultants actually 'designed' the pond? who did they consult? not the people of Bradford but their representatives on the council..who used a budget of anything between24 to 28 million to get their way..If George G.can get our City up to scratch again he needs all our support to do so.I am not saying that individual councilors have not worked for the public they have Mr Sutcliffe being one man who has helped to hold back an obnoxious intrusion into greenbelt land. near where I live (BFD West)But collectively Labour or conservative or Liberal do not appear to be working for the City at all

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straightup says...
2:45pm Tue 1 May 12

jozieme wrote:
I have never not voted, I believe it's our right and as a woman I know that others have died for this freedom we take for granted.I truly believe in 2012 our eyes are finally being opened to the dubious... for want of a better word ,practices that have been taking place in Bradford for at least 20 years..Our City was sold off lock stock and barrel in the 60's demolition took place on an unprecedented scale, we had some great building in the City centre the stone ending up in Oxford! if you ever go there look around at all the Yorkshire stone down there......and to date millions spent on how to bring Bradford back into a city and not a backwater with the only Character building besides the town hall and Alhambra waiting for the gallows!Are we accepting that consultants actually 'designed' the pond? who did they consult? not the people of Bradford but their representatives on the council..who used a budget of anything between24 to 28 million to get their way..If George G.can get our City up to scratch again he needs all our support to do so.I am not saying that individual councilors have not worked for the public they have Mr Sutcliffe being one man who has helped to hold back an obnoxious intrusion into greenbelt land. near where I live (BFD West)But collectively Labour or conservative or Liberal do not appear to be working for the City at all
Try speaking to the people of Tower Hamlets and they will let you know what GG will do for you.

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jonathancrewdson says...
3:10pm Tue 1 May 12

I think the main point here is that the Council is still spending far too much money on consultants. Whether it is £7m or £2m it is still a heck of a lot of money that could be spent more wisely on other things.

Local authorities are supposed to employ qualified experts to staff their services - planning officers, civil engineers, environmental health officers, social workers, teachers - all of which have to have a degree and be registered with a professional body in order to work. Surely they will have the expertise needed to carry out research and develop projects for the Council? Most private businesses will look internally first for this sort of thing.

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webess says...
3:48pm Tue 1 May 12

jonathancrewdson wrote:
I think the main point here is that the Council is still spending far too much money on consultants. Whether it is £7m or £2m it is still a heck of a lot of money that could be spent more wisely on other things.

Local authorities are supposed to employ qualified experts to staff their services - planning officers, civil engineers, environmental health officers, social workers, teachers - all of which have to have a degree and be registered with a professional body in order to work. Surely they will have the expertise needed to carry out research and develop projects for the Council? Most private businesses will look internally first for this sort of thing.
Depends what you mean by "consultant". Many private sector companies employ freelance staff, these can be described as "consultants".

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jonathancrewdson says...
4:08pm Tue 1 May 12

webess wrote:
jonathancrewdson wrote:
I think the main point here is that the Council is still spending far too much money on consultants. Whether it is £7m or £2m it is still a heck of a lot of money that could be spent more wisely on other things.

Local authorities are supposed to employ qualified experts to staff their services - planning officers, civil engineers, environmental health officers, social workers, teachers - all of which have to have a degree and be registered with a professional body in order to work. Surely they will have the expertise needed to carry out research and develop projects for the Council? Most private businesses will look internally first for this sort of thing.
Depends what you mean by "consultant". Many private sector companies employ freelance staff, these can be described as "consultants".
I guess I'm meaning for roles in which the person carrying out the research / writing the report / producing the bid already has a background that is relevant to the work needed. I'm sure most businesses will look at who they've already got on the payroll before outsourcing work.

A lot of businesses and charities these days will identify what skills and competences their staff have to see if they are giving them work that is appropriate to their abilities or underutilising them. To my knowledge Bradford Council has never done any such exercise and it is something that HR could easily keep up-to-date as people join and leave.

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BD16 says...
5:54pm Tue 1 May 12

As soon as you hear the words "culture and regeneration" you can believe that £500k went on "artists impressions" of projects that will never get started.

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Willard says...
7:41pm Tue 1 May 12

£7m or £2.8m, it all sounds a lot of money. Culture and regeneration and artists impressions? Loss of historic buildings, a hole in the ground and a pond. How many new jobs have we lost since 2000 and how does this compare with the rest of the UK.

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mark04 says...
10:08pm Tue 1 May 12

Agree with other posters who have said we should give Respect a chance.I for one hope they will hold balance of power after 3rd May,where they can shine a light on what has been going on for last 15/20 years by all three of the big parties who have had power.

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mad matt says...
10:38pm Tue 1 May 12

I am certain that somebody needs to have a very close look at what is happening with Bradford council. What I am not certain about is who is capable of doing it properly.
Tories, Labour and Lib Dems have shown that they are not capable of running the city in a proper way - can Respect do that? Somehow I doubt it.

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zippiehippie says...
10:38pm Tue 1 May 12

mark04 wrote:
Agree with other posters who have said we should give Respect a chance.I for one hope they will hold balance of power after 3rd May,where they can shine a light on what has been going on for last 15/20 years by all three of the big parties who have had power.
Couldn't agree more.

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ANY WHERE BUT HERE says...
11:10pm Tue 1 May 12

If we can shame the tories,labour and the lib dems that will be enough to change the way they make decisions.Every decision that they make is always detrimental to bradford? Companys are making huge amounts out of the people of this city but these (experts) are also making bad decisions. We need a complete overall, and the only way to do this is'to vote for galloway let everything get exposed then go back to the norm, once they know that incompetence won't be tolerated.

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straightup says...
11:22pm Tue 1 May 12

zippiehippie wrote:
mark04 wrote:
Agree with other posters who have said we should give Respect a chance.I for one hope they will hold balance of power after 3rd May,where they can shine a light on what has been going on for last 15/20 years by all three of the big parties who have had power.
Couldn't agree more.
People in tower hamlets had the same thoughts as you but after 5 years the result was... They wanted Labour back and Respect out.

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angry bradfordian says...
7:47am Wed 2 May 12

It looks like Galloway's policy of headline grabbing misinformation is working.
He uses the word 'consultant' and everybody assumes that they're all driving around in BMWs and making a fortune.
This stereotyping is just as bad as the myth that all council workers are lazy.
Don't know what the Council's wage bill is but I suspect £7m is a drop in the ocean. And the unions grip on the council mean that it's unlikely that these outsourced roles have directly replaced a council employee.

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BILLTILL says...
12:44pm Wed 2 May 12

jonathancrewdson wrote:
I think the main point here is that the Council is still spending far too much money on consultants. Whether it is £7m or £2m it is still a heck of a lot of money that could be spent more wisely on other things. Local authorities are supposed to employ qualified experts to staff their services - planning officers, civil engineers, environmental health officers, social workers, teachers - all of which have to have a degree and be registered with a professional body in order to work. Surely they will have the expertise needed to carry out research and develop projects for the Council? Most private businesses will look internally first for this sort of thing.
What we would rather have are coucil employees who know how to do the job they are paid for .
If the employees had a clue how the real world of business worked instead of sitting on their behinds waiting for an expensive consultant to tell them how to do the job they are paid for ,we would all be much better off.
It is the same iold story of council employees without a clue or real experience sitting around waiting for that big fat early retirement pension and lump sum.”

Report this post »

Willard says...
1:32pm Wed 2 May 12

Bradford's in a muddle, we have a shallow puddle, we have a hole in the middle and as we sink they fiddle. (Nero)

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ANY WHERE BUT HERE says...
7:01pm Wed 2 May 12

£2.8million could do alot for this city, It cost £300.000 a year for kids in bradford to swim for nothing my own children and there friends were never away from richard dunnes. Imaginne wot the rest could do to get the people of bradford happy and healthier.

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lonniejockstrap says...
11:38pm Wed 2 May 12

Check out how much Bradford University is spending on consultants George and how they are using the increase in Student fees to increase wage grades. Some nice wages being paid out down there that would have folks spitting and screaming if they were called 'council workers'.

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