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Labour's Leader on Wirral Council has sought to defend the use of £95,000 to pay consultants to review some aspects of regeneration in the Borough.
In recent years, the cash-strapped Council has been bidding for cash from both the previous Conservative Government and the Labour Government to fund redevelopment projects, mostly in Birkenhead.
While areas such as Wallasey have often been left behind by the Labour-led authority, the Council has also failed to deliver on the many promises made by councillors at election times and in the press.
While the review had been promised by the new Leader since May, it was only on 10 July that the notice announcing the review was published and after the consultant had already started work.
There was no option to call in the decision for public scrutiny and neither the Council's Economy, Regeneration & Housing Committee or Policy & Resources Committee were advised of the decision.
Nor were councillors told the cost of the work - in spite of a self-imposed 'spending freeze' by the Authority and repeated warnings to cut spending at council committees.
In the absence of transparency about the costs and terms of the decision, Councillor Ian Lewis submitted a request using the Freedom of Information Act.
The Town Hall's response, published after the statutory deadline for it had expired, revealed that the cost of the work was between £900 and £1,000 a day - with an estimated total cost of £95,000.
Councillor Lewis said: "The new Leader promised openness. She promised transparency. And she promised to listen.
"Instead this decision harks back to the days of the failed Cabinet system used by her predecessors. Secrecy when deciding matters and defensiveness when questioned about them.
Here's what the £95,000 could have been used for:
- Buy a house in Rock Ferry to rent to a family on the waiting list
- Employ eight school crossing patrols keep children safe near school
- Fix 1,329 pot holes on Wirral's roads
News of the cost of the consultant has been covered by the Liverpool Echo
