Hotel nights on the council tax

VERONICA JACKSON

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CASH-strapped Oldham Council has been criticised for paying for two directors to stay in a hotel during a Manchester conference.

The council, which may have to cut 800 jobs in an attempt to save £45 million, paid £520 for the employees to stay at the Jury’s Inn Hotel during the three-day National Children and Adult Services Conference last week.

This covered two rooms with the executive director for people, communities and society, Veronica Jackson, who earns £132,000, staying three nights, and the assistant executive director for children and young people, Michael Jameson, who earns £105,000, staying two nights.

One Chronicle reader said: “With all the cuts and job losses at Oldham Council in childrens and social care it turned my stomach to know that they both attended the conference and then on top of that the council also paid for them both to stay at the luxury Jury’s Inn hotel in Manchester city centre.”

The 265 bedroom hotel, on Great Bridgewater Street, boasts spacious and comfortable en-suite rooms. They have air-conditioning and multi-channel flat screen TVs.

The council said the hotel is one of the cheapest in the city centre and the event was vital. But three councillors attending the conference commuted.

But council staff are reported to be angry, saying all conference bookings for normal staff have been cancelled and questioning why the pair were allowed to stay in a hotel and not told to drive home.

They have also questioned why it needed the two of them to be at the conference and how much the conference cost.

Education Minister Michael Gove made a keynote speech at the conference, where he was questioned by Councillor Jack Hulme, cabinet member for children and families, on the impact of Free Schools on community cohesion and the current 11-16 and Sixth Form provision.

Issues

Councillor Hulme said: “The National Children and Adult Services Conference is an established event that sees more-than 1,000 high-level attendees from across the country come together for three days to discuss and debate the latest issues affecting children and adult services.

“This event is vital to councillors, senior officers, policymakers and service managers with responsibilities for children’s services and adult social care in the statutory, voluntary and private sector.

“Like all local authorities, Oldham Council is facing significant challenges in trying to deliver better and improved services for citizens in the face of reduced funding from central government.

“This event was an important opportunity for networking with partners and MPs in related fields to share ideas learn from best practice and work on key themes important to improving the borough.

“Due to the early starts and evening meetings of the conference, Oldham Council’s executive director for people, communities and society and assistant executive director children and young people — who both have statutory responsibilities — stayed in two rooms at the Jury’s Inn Hotel, Manchester, one of the cheapest in the city centre.

“Delegates from other council’s from across the North-West also stayed in hotels across the city centre.

“The total cost of the stay was £520 for two rooms (this covers three nights stay for the executive director and two nights stay for the assistant executive director). Three councillors representing all three parties on the council attended the conference, none of whom stayed overnight.”