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COUNCIL PAID SOCIAL SERVICES CONSULTANT £1,000 A DAY
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11:00 - 05 October 2005
A Consultant who was taken on by Bristol City Council to help shake up its social services department cost £1,000 a day for his expertise, the Evening Post can reveal. Ian White, pictured, former director of social services for Hertfordshire County Council, worked for the department for 50 days - which meant his total bill came to £50,000 for 10 weeks' work.
His daily income was the equivalent of that paid to 19 home care assistants on £6.50 an hour, working an eight-hour day.
Mr White helped to reshape the department in the light of new government legislation which links services for children, from schooling to social services and welfare issues.
On top of this shake-up, the department has undergone a major overhaul to peg back spiralling costs and avoid a projected £17 million overspend by the end of the year.
Measures to cut the overspend have included cuts to the level of provision at day centres for elderly and disabled people - moves which have sparked a storm of protest from centre users and their families.
The cost of Mr White's consultancy fees came to light as a result of an Evening Post reader asking the council for information under the Freedom of Information Act.
The reader - who has asked not to be named - contacted the Post after we published confidential documents which showed proposed pay rises for the council's top directors.
His reply from the council showed that the council spent at least £1.2 million on consultants during the two years from April 2003 - April 2005.
Council spokesman Simon Caplan said Mr White, who is currently chairman of the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Strategic Health Authority, is one of the country's leading experts on social care issues.
Mr Caplan said: "He was employed to advise on the future arrangements for children's services in the light of the Government's programme called Every Child Matters.
"This requires all services for children across the main agencies to be linked and co-ordinated and for there to be new management arrangements to enable that to happen.
"Getting this right, with the right advice, was crucial to the future and safety of all children in the city, particularly those who are at risk, disadvantaged or who have special needs."
He said Mr White's employment was organised through the Government Office for the South West and was an "exceptional case".
He said: "In most cases, the consultant is simply standing in for staff we would have had to employ anyway.
"In one or two exceptional cases, specialist consultancy - like Ian White - would be secured because we have a specific issue to resolve."
Mr Caplan said consultancy fees were often recouped from private enterprise, government grants, European funding budgets and other sources such as the Heritage Lottery Fund or the Arts Council.
Among the costs was £738,118 for 31 consultants who worked in the council's department of environment, transport and leisure. They included:
l Nine who worked for the council's archaeological service and included experts on human bones, molluscs and fishbone remains;
l Three employed to support the Colston Hall redevelopment programme and review of its programming and artistic policy;
l Eight employed on helping the revamp of Blaise Castle Estate and another five were used to help the council's bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund to give Ashton Court a facelift;
l One was employed as a producer for Dance Bristol.
Mr Caplan said: "Only about £22,000 of the total would have actually been a direct cost to the council tax payers of Bristol."
In education, a total of 18 consultants cost a total of £471,757. They included:
l Eight who worked on school standards improvement projects in early years, primary and secondary sectors;
l One was cover for maternity leave for a schools' psychologist;
Mr Caplan said: "I estimate that about £190,000 of this expenditure was recovered through special government and EU grants.
"The rest would have been contained within the set education budget and did not cost the council tax payer any more than was originally planned."
http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=145186&command=displayContent&sourceNode=144934&home=yes&contentPK=13262774&localNewsNodeId=144916
More News | Back to home page
11:00 - 05 October 2005
A Consultant who was taken on by Bristol City Council to help shake up its social services department cost £1,000 a day for his expertise, the Evening Post can reveal. Ian White, pictured, former director of social services for Hertfordshire County Council, worked for the department for 50 days - which meant his total bill came to £50,000 for 10 weeks' work.
His daily income was the equivalent of that paid to 19 home care assistants on £6.50 an hour, working an eight-hour day.
Mr White helped to reshape the department in the light of new government legislation which links services for children, from schooling to social services and welfare issues.
On top of this shake-up, the department has undergone a major overhaul to peg back spiralling costs and avoid a projected £17 million overspend by the end of the year.
Measures to cut the overspend have included cuts to the level of provision at day centres for elderly and disabled people - moves which have sparked a storm of protest from centre users and their families.
The cost of Mr White's consultancy fees came to light as a result of an Evening Post reader asking the council for information under the Freedom of Information Act.
The reader - who has asked not to be named - contacted the Post after we published confidential documents which showed proposed pay rises for the council's top directors.
His reply from the council showed that the council spent at least £1.2 million on consultants during the two years from April 2003 - April 2005.
Council spokesman Simon Caplan said Mr White, who is currently chairman of the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Strategic Health Authority, is one of the country's leading experts on social care issues.
Mr Caplan said: "He was employed to advise on the future arrangements for children's services in the light of the Government's programme called Every Child Matters.
"This requires all services for children across the main agencies to be linked and co-ordinated and for there to be new management arrangements to enable that to happen.
"Getting this right, with the right advice, was crucial to the future and safety of all children in the city, particularly those who are at risk, disadvantaged or who have special needs."
He said Mr White's employment was organised through the Government Office for the South West and was an "exceptional case".
He said: "In most cases, the consultant is simply standing in for staff we would have had to employ anyway.
"In one or two exceptional cases, specialist consultancy - like Ian White - would be secured because we have a specific issue to resolve."
Mr Caplan said consultancy fees were often recouped from private enterprise, government grants, European funding budgets and other sources such as the Heritage Lottery Fund or the Arts Council.
Among the costs was £738,118 for 31 consultants who worked in the council's department of environment, transport and leisure. They included:
l Nine who worked for the council's archaeological service and included experts on human bones, molluscs and fishbone remains;
l Three employed to support the Colston Hall redevelopment programme and review of its programming and artistic policy;
l Eight employed on helping the revamp of Blaise Castle Estate and another five were used to help the council's bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund to give Ashton Court a facelift;
l One was employed as a producer for Dance Bristol.
Mr Caplan said: "Only about £22,000 of the total would have actually been a direct cost to the council tax payers of Bristol."
In education, a total of 18 consultants cost a total of £471,757. They included:
l Eight who worked on school standards improvement projects in early years, primary and secondary sectors;
l One was cover for maternity leave for a schools' psychologist;
Mr Caplan said: "I estimate that about £190,000 of this expenditure was recovered through special government and EU grants.
"The rest would have been contained within the set education budget and did not cost the council tax payer any more than was originally planned."
http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=145186&command=displayContent&sourceNode=144934&home=yes&contentPK=13262774&localNewsNodeId=144916
nonegreen said:
I suggest we dont even need a social services department never mind consultants to improve it.
Who sorts out the care packagae for your sick Aunt/Grannie/Wife/child relative that needs specialist care or referral ??
Dont even get me started on the Child Protection route (my specialist field)
I'm attending a conference next week which publishes the final draft of the recommendations from the climbier report, you'd be amazed at the work that goes on behind the scenes and how much has improved since its inception...
If you have no social services you have no care packages for anybody in distress or that needs it, social services has such a wide remit that i dont belive that society could survive without it...
When you get discharged from Hospital you need a social worker if you need additional care, how can you suggest we dont need social services ??
Yes, SS has its failings, but they always probably will have...
A Single post in my entire history of Pistonheads has never pissed me off so much
Edited for the Telegraph readers amongst us...
>> Edited by Hughesie2 on Wednesday 5th October 15:24
Hughesie2 said:
If left unchecked we end up with another locked thread and no debate
Do you believe that we should have no Social Services as well then ??
I believe we do need high quality social services, and I do believe that we have some fantastic people that work in social services today.
However, I passionately believe that we do not need to be paying £1,000 a day to bureaucrats to shift the deck chairs around, and that all the good work performed by the excellent social services practitioners we do have is in spite of the best efforts of the legions of Blairite Guardian-reading bureaucrats who continually drag the whole thing towards the ocean floor.
If you read my post, I simply said that there was no need for personal insults and, leading from that we were more likely to get the thread locked by the tone of your initial response, which would be a shame. It had nothing to do with the content.
I appreciate that you may be upset / vehemently disagree with someones point of view, but that's exactly what is it, their point of view. No more or no less valid than yours, no matter how informed, misinformed or well read on a subject they or you may be.
Coming back on point, that still never excuses bad manners or personal insults.
I appreciate that you may be upset / vehemently disagree with someones point of view, but that's exactly what is it, their point of view. No more or no less valid than yours, no matter how informed, misinformed or well read on a subject they or you may be.
Coming back on point, that still never excuses bad manners or personal insults.
Mon Ami Mate said:
I passionately believe that we do not need to be paying £1,000 a day to bureaucrats to shift the deck chairs around, and that all the good work performed by the excellent social services practitioners we do have is in spite of the best efforts of the legions of Blairite Guardian-reading bureaucrats who continually drag the whole thing towards the ocean floor.
The guy went in, sorted the dept out and left, if your talking about a £100.00 vacuum and a £1000.00 vacuum i'd agree with you, this guy went in to introduce a lot of change's in policies that require specialist help, That costs would be even higher if you'd have had someone in on PAYE or Permenently
Is it the cost that bothers you, perhaps you'd have preferred a substandard or even illegal service been provided instead ??
How much is your standard of living worth ??
puggit said:
A heavily trimmed down version, only looking after those genuinely in need wouldn't be a bad start!
you already get that, in fact i think you all get a pretty poor service compared to other countries...
This isnt about benefits, its about improving peoples lives, that need it, its quite hard pulling the wool over a qualified social workers eyes when she's dealing with a kid thats been raped by grandpaa...
Hughesie2 said:
Is it the cost that bothers you, perhaps you'd have preferred a substandard or even illegal service been provided instead ??
How much is your standard of living worth ??
Fair comment, but what worries me is how the situation "spiralled out of control" in the first place? Why was it subject to such ineffective management? What has happened to the people who have presided over the mismanagement? Why is it necessary to bring in a consultant at £1,000 a day to sort it out and how is he mandated to slash the budgets by chopping out facilities for the elderly and disabled?
Where is democracy and accountability in local Government?
ledger said:
Hughsie2, are you a social worker ?.
Nope, i have an indepth understanding of Boroughs and county councils...
I'm actually a Recruitment consultant, but i know the guy that did this bit of work...
Bristol had a a problem and this guy picked up the pieces, its actually worked out cheaper as they have not replaced the ££££k a year post...
Believe it or not its very difficult finding people good enough to do this work, you should be paying this guy £5k a day to do what he does...
Hughesie2 said:
Hughsie2, are you a social worker ?.
Nope, i have an indepth understanding of Boroughs and county councils...
I'm actually a Recruitment consultant, but i know the guy that did this bit of work...
Bristol had a a problem and this guy picked up the pieces, its actually worked out cheaper as they have not replaced the ££££k a year post...
Believe it or not its very difficult finding people good enough to do this work, you should be paying this guy £5k a day to do what he does...
ok, I have just started dealing with social services about getting some help caring for my disabled daughter and to be honest it's been a mightmare. If you were a social worker I was going to ask for some advise.
Mon Ami Mate said:
Where is democracy and accountability in local Government?
you vote em in, you vote em out...
People like this though are accountable to the Councillors, who in turn are accountable to you and me...
The biggest shift in policy is driven by mistakes, believe it or not, a tragic situaton like the Climbier affair, as sad as it was, has shaken up the SS departmenst of EVERY SINGLE bourough in the land...
Its made it safer and more accountable than ever...
Done a little googling...
Ian white (the consultant) is the ex head of variuos social services departments by the sound of it.
He is now retired and works the consultancy and speaking circuit.
I see a slight conflict here.
If this were private industry I would not have a problem, but senior civil servants already take a nice chunk of the pie, now they come back for seconds too?
Ian white (the consultant) is the ex head of variuos social services departments by the sound of it.
He is now retired and works the consultancy and speaking circuit.
I see a slight conflict here.
If this were private industry I would not have a problem, but senior civil servants already take a nice chunk of the pie, now they come back for seconds too?
ledger said:
ok, I have just started dealing with social services about getting some help caring for my disabled daughter and to be honest it's been a mightmare. If you were a social worker I was going to ask for some advise.
i can help you off line but not offer help if that makes sense, i can advise you the best course of acion if you are not getting anywhere...
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