BRACKNELL'S BUREAUCRATS MARCH ON

6.55.28pm GMT Tue 6th Jan 2009

Administrative posts dominate creation of new council jobs

Following an earlier Lib Dem FoI request, which revealed that the council's wage bill had risen by more than 10% in the past three years, a follow-up FoI request has now established that a significant part of the incease during this time was due to the recruitment of another 50 senior administrative and managerial staff.

The bulk of the appointments were made in the Social Care and Learning, and Environment, Culture and Communities Departments and each of the new posts attracted a starting salary in excess of £30,000 a year. In addition a further 90 staff were recruited across the council to fill a variety of less senior posts on lower starting salaries.

The most senior positions included a range of managerial and co-ordination functions such as an extended services manager, an extended schools co-ordinator, and a development/change manager, on starting salaries of up to £46,261. Other senior posts with equally vague titles included a 'grow our own' project manager, a general adviser on workforce development and a family learning tutor!

The Social Care and Learning Department accounted for more than half of all the new posts created. Several related to performance and the use of resources but most covered access and inclusion activities as well as a significant number of adult and children's services.

Commenting on the information supplied by the council in response to the FoI requests, Ray Earwicker, Lib Dem Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Bracknell, said 'he welcomed the increased emphasis being placed on social services but he was staggered the council was still recruiting so many new staff. The council had struggled for years to balance its books and would do so again in 2009.

The council needed to take steps to restrict further employment, especially at a time when the economy was in recession and taxpayers faced so much uncertainty about the future. The council had to live within its means like everybody else and taxpayers would be outraged if the council continued to show such a lack of restraint.'