Another Freedom of Information request to Tower Hamlets council hits the mark. Mind you, it’s not difficult.
In the Sunday Express today: (the FoI disclosures are here and here).
BRITAIN’S most impoverished council spent £855 on a pair of first class rail tickets for two officials to attend a conference a couple of hours away.
Tower Hamlets Council in east London bought the tickets for children’s services director, Isobel Cattermole, and her deputy Ann Canning to travel to Manchester last July.
They attended the annual conference of the Association of Directors for Children’s Services, a two-hour train journey from London’s Euston station that normally costs £72 for a standard off-peak return.
However, the directors, who both earn around £116,000 a year, were given first class open returns on Virgin Rail, the most expensive tickets available, costing £427.50 each.
The spending, described by a minister as “disgraceful”, would have bought two return airfares from London to New York, with change to spare.
Tower Hamlets is the poorest borough in Britain where more than half of all secondary pupils receive free school meals.
When asked to justify the spending, the council said: “Open tickets are sometimes purchased to allow officers greater flexibility with travel times, where conferences finish early/late, or officers need to leave early due to unforeseen circumstances.”
However, conference organisers told the Sunday Express the conference began at 1.45pm on a Thursday and finished mid-afternoon the next day, both times allowing standard off-peak travel.
The council’s press office refused to disclose its policies for staff travel, saying it needed a request under the Freedom of Information Act, but a leaked document confirms officers are required to travel by standard class.
“Travelling expenses will be reimbursed at the available cheap rate or ordinary return fare, whichever is the lower,” the policy states.
Last night, Local Government Minister Brandon Lewis waded into the row.
He said: “It is disgraceful that the poorest borough in the country has such a reckless attitude to spending taxpayers cash. This kind of wild spending is all too typical of left wing councils who have a casual attitude to the public purse”
Roberty Oxley, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, described the spending as “incredible”, adding: “The rest of us could have flown half way round the world for that much money.
“It certainly appears that taxpayer value for money has taken a back seat to the directors’ desire for extra convenience and comfort.”
The council insists Whitehall spending cuts are causing so much hardship that the town hall is being forced to sell off the family silver.
Last week, its executive mayor, Lutfur Rahman, who hires a chauffeured Mercedes at a rate of £70 a day, announced a sale of the borough’s famous Henry Moore sculpture, the Draped Seated Woman, which is worth about £20million to plug a claimed £100million funding gap.
I think if I were a councillor, I’d be asking who requested this ticket, who authorised it, how many more are there, what trains these two actually took and what on earth was going through Ms Cattermole’s mind as she sat down in first class.
Trial by Jeory 
Maybe they wanted to get pissed.
You get unlimited free booze in Virgin First Class on a Friday.
Or just take the piss out of the hardworking taxpayer.
Disgusting!
Although I doubt Mayor Rahman had anything to do with authorising first class travel for senior officers, the officers themselves should have used their common sense in realising this is unacceptable. If council policy is correct that officers should use standard class tickets, not taxpayer funded first class comforts, then as a minimum, they should be forced to return the difference back to the council. Secondly, as senior officers, they cannot be mistaken for not understanding the rules. This should clearly be a case for disciplinary action against these officers, just like former Assistant Director Lutfur Ali was disciplined for moonlighting – there is no difference in the abuse of these two examples.
Await to see what Mayor Rahman has to say about this.
That does seem an over the top amount, although it is fair enough that officials attend relevant conferences, and be paid fair expenses for doing so. It seems likely they could have made the journey more economically. And frankly, if they wish to travel first class – and they are quite free to choose to do so – then on their salaries it would not seem unreasonable, I’d have thought, to expect THEM to pick up the tab for the cost of the upgrade, with a claim only being made for the standard return ticket cost. That is what I would consider fair.
What can the mayor say? He is the master of “taxpayer funded first class comforts”. £120k + on his grand office. The chauffeur and mercedes benz. iPhone, £1million on his advisors and his office. Excess – in the words of Sylhetymanosh above, taking the piss out of the hardworking taxpayer comes from the top! And Rahman is in no position to judge anybody. Don’t get me started on the Lutfer Ali episode!!! (Last seen (briefly) in mayor Rahman election film!
It would seem that Rahman is not one who can sit in judgement over these staff members. It is very disappointing (although not very surprising) that the example set at the top of the organisation is followed by others elsewhere.
Tim.
Socialism in One Borough… what do you expect?
It was the bit about Old Flo (the ‘Enry Moore) that most caught my attention. Old Flo was on the ex-GLC Stifford Estate at Jamaica Street, so I guess it was given to the LCC as part of the concept of public art for the masses since I think the Stifford Estate was built in the late 1950s.The sculpture was widely respected by the community and had suffered little vandalism up to the 1990s when the Stepney Neighbourhood Committee had it repaired.
Moore had built up a strong relationship with the east end during the war, and a lot of his work is site specific. I wonder if any conditions were laid down when it was acquired? Something an enterpring investigative journalist might look into.
Should we really be surprised by this waste of taxpayers money.Dig deeper and i am sure you will find worse examples than this.The council is just one big gravy train.Money is spent with no thought of value for money or if necessary.A prime example is the councils housing arm, Tower Hamlets Homes.This organisation is costing the rent and leaseholders dear,Since its inception, its wasted millions on rebranding,refurbishing offices ,useless surveys,consultants etc…Its grossly overstaffed,especially with managers who do very little all day.They have spent thousands on estate cleaning equipment that rarely gets used or in fact even needed.Fleets of new vans purchased willy nilly.We have even heard the expenses off these managers to attend meaningless conferences would put the above to shame.Like the main council,they continue to create and advertise non jobs.All of course passed on to the poor hard up leaseholders and tenants.Millions alone could be saved by scrapping this organisation.
The buck stops with the Mayor. That is the downside of being “the face” of the borough. He needs to get to grips with this. What is key is the authorisation process… who approves these invoices? Have they been given best pracise guidance?? Is this an isolated incident???
A useful FOI would be an itemised account of how much is spent on rail and air fares each year. I used to work in the City and if a manager there had tried to get an invoice for a railfare of £400+ just to go to Manchester in all honesty it would most likely have been turned down. The boss would have told them to spend their own money or go standard… or better, video conference. But tbis is public money being spent on “a jolly”… so it doesn’t matter because it’s only us mugs paying for it in our council tax and there’s nothing we can do to stop it.
Unless you are Bob Diamond or other City financial bigwigs in which case all travel is first class and paid for and rail travel is considered slumming it (not that I suppose that they ever visit Manchester or anywhere north of Birmingham).
I’m hacked off with this story because it gives the ignoramuses at the Taxpayers Alliance another opportunity to come out and spout their uninformed bile.
OBVIOUSLY I am not talking about CEOs of international banking corporations, Yohannes Riyadi, the Sultan of Brunei, George Soros or Bill Gates. I fully expect that Sir Stephen Hester travels to work in an ermine-trimmed ivory chinook… but relating my tale (of personal experience in the private sector) I can tell you it would be simply impossible for people there in even quite senior positions (let’s say earning £60k) to get those sort of invoices approved. That is not “uninformed bile” but fair informed comment. I am not sure what point you are making – are you in favour of this laissez faire attitude towards public money or are you against it?
“The face” of the borough! Did he spend 37k on putting banners of his face across tower hamlets, Dear Ted, tell me you have seen the small grant settlement. Just seen it and feel sick! The payback continues.
Yes. Am looking at it.
This £855 is just a drop in the ocean compared to the grants that the mayor has just dished out to his cronies: £290,000 (highest amount awarded to any organisation) goes to his key IFE supporters based in valance road, followed by £182,000 awarded to a fairly newish organisation (again with strong links to the IFE) based in Shadwell area, £142,000 awarded to another organisation based in whitechapel ward that a certain councillor from the mayors camp works in, £205,000 awarded to another key supporter of the mayor based in St Peters area in bethnal green area, £91,000 to another organisation based in isle of dogs which is effectively run indirectly by another of the mayors cllrs. This is just quick figures I can see.
Ted, a good FOI would be to get the comparission for what these organisations received in the last 2 rounds of the mainstream grant. The story will unravel.
Many worthy projects either didnt get any money at all or they got very very reduced amounts. This grants programme could’ve been used to really support the needy in our community in these difficult times, instead the Mayor has effectively used it to buy the next election.
This is the nine-tenths of the iceberg beneath the surface. This is what needs investigating.
@ Taj – is the £290k to OSmani Trust and £182k to The Roots Forum???
Using the Tax payer’s Alliance to back up a story is low, very low. Everybody knows they are a Tory front organisation with nothing to say on the widespread defrauding of British tax payers through numerous tax loop holes.
I’d say that signing off a payment of £855 for two rail tickets is defrauding the British taxpayer – wouldn’t you?
How widespread that is anyone’s guess but regardless of the TPA’s affiliation, at least they shine a light on this kind of waste.
@Sheraz Yes.
Others to look at is BYM where Cllr Aminur Khan works at and Cllr Kabir Ahmed used work and Island Bengali Welafre Organisation (IBWO) which is run by Cllr Maium Miah.
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