EADT - News; Andrea Hill the new chief exec for Suffolk County Council talks to the EADT about the future and to explain the reasons for her large salary.; pics by Alex Fairfull 01-05-08; EADT 2.5.08; ES 2/5/08
Criticism prompted £104k spin recruit
By PAUL GEATER,
local government correspondent, local government correspondent
Saturday, June 12, 2010
1:41 PM
SUFFOLK: A highly-critical report on the county’s communications team persuaded chief executive Andrea Hill to fork out £104,000 on a new spin doctor.
As the row over the cost of spin chief Jill Rawlins rumbles on, it has emerged today that a stinging report by Essex County Council communications chief Giles Roca prompted the appointment.
The report says of the department:
n There is an absence of effective leadership
n There is no clear strategy
n The current structure and make-up of the communications team is confused
n Current perceptions of the team across the rest of Suffolk County Council are poor
n Senior officers are critical of the support they receive.
Since the publication of the official cost of hiring Mrs Rawlins on Thursday, there has been an exchange of open letters between Green councillor Mark Ereira and cabinet member Colin Noble.
Mr Ereira said he could not understand why the council had not negotiated a lower rate for Mrs Rawlins.
“I do consultancy work, and I know that if you are hired for four or five days you charge a much higher daily rate than if you are hired for 100 days.
“This makes the fee being paid for this consultant seem very extravagant.”
But Mr Noble said it was necessary to pay the fee to shake up the department.
In a reply to Mr Ereira he said: “This council is now among the very best placed to deal with the cuts in funding that all councils face because we have the structures, people and willingness to change in place.
“Where we need further improvement, such as in our communications department, we have the determination to deliver improvements and cut costs - Jill’s expertise will help us achieve these cost savings.”
n Who should be blamed for the county’s communication’s crisis? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstar letters@eveningstar.co.uk
11 comments
One must ask why we need a spin doctor, when we have Andrea, when she was appointed, I thought the press said she had everything to do the job, why spend £700 a day for someone else's thoughts, the Government says we need to cut back, not pay someone £700 a day to do the thinking for our Suffolk, County Council, when there's a need to cut back, why spend hundreds of thousand of pounds to remove and replace a perfectly good footpath at the roundabout at Waldringfield RoadNorthern Road, which has been going on now, which seem to be months, yet there are many roads that still has potholes.
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Keith Drury
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Peter Turtill With respect, I don't think this has anything to do with the Star's (or any other medium) like or dislike of Ms. Hill, or Freemasonry, come to that. For all that anyone cares, she can be the Grand Mufti of the Lodge of Left-handed Corkscrew Users. What really is under discussion are the decisions that she and the councillors make or endorse; their suitability (horrible expression "whether fit for purpose") in the present times; their cost; and the inevitable effect they have on the Council's activities and money available, and thus on us, the inhabitants of Suffolk-the people who pay the piper and should call the tune.
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T Doff
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Nobody's to blame because - as we all know - nothing is ever anybody's fault these days.
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Percy Flage
Sunday, June 13, 2010
The council does NOT need a communications department of this size. If it really needs expertise, then it should buy it in at a better negotiated price, as suggested by Cllr. Ereira.. It really is the height of perversity to hire in someone to cut things, especially at this time. Considering the main work of these people seems to have been to misinform the people of the county about such things as the SOR, and now seems to be to sugar the cuts pill, spending this money is grotesque. We are neither fools nor babies who have to be spoon-fed on a diet of drivel from the County. If some of the councillors were a bit keener to look to the interests of their electors (the people who put them there) and question some of these grossly expensive decisions, then we'd all be better off. However, they are really only interested in two P's - their Pockets and their Parties. We, the People,come a pretty poor third!
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T Doff
Sunday, June 13, 2010
You couldn't make it up could you? What a load of baloney. All these years the tax payers have been funding an inefficient system which they knew was inefficient but no-one listened to them and now they bring in an expensive communications officer to sort it all out! Just how much did the highly critical report cost?
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sue douglas
Sunday, June 13, 2010
You couldn't make it up could you? What a load of baloney. All these years the tax payers have been funding an inefficient system which they knew was inefficient but no-one listened to them and now they bring in an expensive communications officer to sort it all out! Just how much did the highly critical report cost?
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sue douglas
Sunday, June 13, 2010
The Evening Star will never like Andrea Hill as she is not able to become a Freemason:-)
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Peter Turtill
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Its about time we all refuse to pay the community charge..Most of it is wasted on these idiots.
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p smith
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Who does she think she is deciding to spend taxpayers money this way? Would it not be better to find out who is the best in house candidate and promote them? SUrely a better and simpler way plus being less expensive as the promotion would only amount to a pay rise rather then a complete new post with extra costs.
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Alfred Cavill
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Presumably the function of this person and dept. is to always promote SCC in a favourable light. Why is there this need? Surely the grossly overpaid CEO, councillors and senior officers have the acumen to do this. Additionally there a number of small sections that are top heavy with managers eg. Head, Deputy Head, Senior Officer to supervise a staff of eight!
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david rowson
Saturday, June 12, 2010
We (Ipswich People) so need to get rid of her. She is still spending, when we have to save money. Mr Cameron please sort her out.
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Ipswich Man
Saturday, June 12, 2010