Lib Dems demand answers on £75,000 temporary job as services face the axe

Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council are demanding answers as to why a new job is being created in the Youth Service, paying nearly £75,000 for a one year contract, when the service is reducing the number of front line posts following a reduction in budget of over £2million for 2011/12.

In a written question being tabled at the Cabinet meeting of Conservative run Surrey County Council on 1 March, Cllr Hazel Watson, the Liberal Democrat Leader of the Opposition on Surrey County Council asks, "Could the necessary work not be undertaken at far lower cost by using existing in house Surrey staff?"

Hazel Watson says: "This new job has been created to manage the process of saving money and making cuts in the service, but the amount being offered for this one year contract, for a job where the person will walk away from the County Council at the end of the process without being accountable, is astounding. Service users who find their services slashed by the County Council will rightly ask whether this is fair."

"Many County Council staff are asking why this job could not be done by existing staff, many of who have had extensive experience of managing major changes in the way the County Council manages services."

More information can be found on: http://surreylibdems.org.uk/en/article/2011/455922/lib-dems-demand-answers-on-75-000-temporary-job-as-services-face-the-axe