KCC have a remarkable record as far as it's relationships with senior management are concerned, as several high profile controversial events show a somewhat worrying aspect of an organisation, that used to promote itself as being excellent, although in fairness, some time after the dreadful state of affairs in childrens services became apparent, they eventually realised that the excellent tag was no longer tenable.
Anyhow as someone reported recently on my previous "Kent Watch" posting, rumours were rife as to the future of the current Chief Exective Officer Katherine Kerswell of the council or in Kent council orwellian newspeak Managing Director (Kent Conservative appear to view the council as if it were their own business), KCC have issued this Press Release
Since joining Kent County Council in May 2010, Katherine Kerswell has been an outstanding Managing Director. In a very tough financial climate and against a background of severe budget cuts, she has done a great deal to relieve the financial burden on Kent council tax payers and has implemented Paul Carter and the Cabinet’s strategy for reshaping the council. Significant savings have been made possible through the continuing restructuring process and the new operational framework presided over by Katherine Kerswell and the Corporate Management team so far.
We would like to make it clear that Katherine Kerswell is and remains the Managing Director of Kent County Council. It is completely untrue to suggest that she has been dismissed or put on garden leave.
Neither the council nor Katherine Kerswell will be making any further public statement.
Now when KCC say they wont make any further public statements and you can believe them, as has been the case in other instances of their extraordinary personnel relationships, and even when they do promise more information, they conviniently brush aside further comment, such as how they ran child services down in to a perilous state, yes you'll get bluster and a lot of effort from Kent Council's multimillion pound public relations machine but whether we ever get honest information is debatable in that case.
Anyway according to Local Government News website " Speculation grew this week that council leader Paul Carter was seeking to follow the recent move by Wiltshire Council by axing Ms Kerswell and assuming the managing director’s role himself. Wiltshire County Council has no chief officer as such, assuming that was true and of course its not, just what would, Kent possibly gain surely Kent Conservatives would not wish to blur the lines between politically neutral officers and partisan politicians.
It is outrageous to suggest that Paul Carter ( Leader of Kent Tories) would compromise the traditional division between politcians and officers which marks British governmental organisations out from all those bent tinpot countries from South America to Middle East and beyond. What could he possibly gain?
Well I must conclude by saying that I am shocked, just as I was when, a company working for Kent's conservative council threatened me for commenting on Kent Councils Media, manipulation, credit card spending, big payouts for departing managers , or found evermore ways to burn your money like KCC's Healthwatch. I get the strong impression that Conservative Councillors would prefer us not to know how good they are at running things in Kent, so the truth is likely to remain behind closed doors(even though you as a taxpayer are funding them)
Recent burning your money:-
ReplyDeleteSenior team from KCC visiting Sweden for an awards ceremony and no suprise that Kent TV came nowhere. How vain was that.
Paul Carter using KCC's cars to visiting his own business empire.
Has he paid it back?
Ex chief exec Peter Gilroy writing himself a cheque for £18K to act s returning office when he knew it was stretching it a bit.
£74,000 spent by the new MD on image consultant to tell staff how to dree and put on make-up. (that was only the men)
The list just goes on forever, one which never saw the light of day was KCC paying a depost for an aircraft to be used on the ill fated trans atlantic flights to america debacle manston to virginia,
ReplyDeleteDon't suppose your lefty contributor will attack you on this one, Tony. Indeed, he will probably remind us all over again what a naughty boy Jonathan Aitken was and prejudge Sandy even before he is charged, let alone tried.
ReplyDeleteIn fairness that the money for the swedish trip i was told by kcc pr came via Brussels
ReplyDeleteAbout the only time kents press department seemed in any hurry
I tried to see if there was any more on the KCC website about this but there didn't seem to be any additional information yet.
ReplyDeleteHowever I did stumble across that it appears (if I'm reading it right!) that the Corporate Management Team (1st Tier) comprising six officers cost £886,730 in salary a year which the spreadsheet helpfully says is an average of £147,788 per officer.
Nice pay if you can get it!
This was the link:
http://www.kent.gov.uk/your_council/how_the_council_works/who_does_what/corporate_management_team/managing_director.aspx
they are all over paid and that I expect is without pensions
ReplyDeleteNo more so than Trade Union Leaders, Don, and they get pensions, grace and favour apartments in the Barbican(for life)plus champagne lunches. Oh, and their poor suckers of members, who pay for their extravagent life styles, have to live on strike pay at their bidding. You don't get more dumbed down than that.
ReplyDeleteWhat puzzles me is why the top KCC staff are given contracts that entitle them to large pay offs regardless of whether they leave on their own accord or whether they are made redundant. It seems to be unheard of for any one just to be sacked for doing a poor job or not being up to scratch. It also seems that taking very early retirement with a large payoff plus immediate pension is not uncommon.
ReplyDeleteIf KCC can adaopt the same contract conditions for top staff that apply to most of us then we shall all be happy.
Shows how much Anon 8.36 know about trade unions in general rather than the few headline extravagences. Most members enjoy fair pay for a fair days work rather than sweat shop labour rates. Their health and safety is also looked after and should they ever get involved in an employment dispute the union has the resources to match the employers.
ReplyDeleteThe unions do a lot of work that you never hear about.
You have to realize that it is the Mpigs who decide what happens at KCC not the officers or even Carter and his cronies.Many will have been threatened or worse if they dare to criticize the Wardens of the Wards they don't get paid all that money for nothing.Dare to rock their money boat and they will put the word out via their dirty little networks.
ReplyDeleteOh dear, Anon 07.11, is this an attempt on your part to pull the discussion to an area more to your preference - ie attacking the left. And I thought you were always spouting about the wrongs in ALL political parties!
ReplyDeletetodays headlines HIGH PAY OF UK's EXECUTIVES IS CORROSIVE. I doubt Kent council will take this on but we keep banging on about it someone must eventually do something about thepigs with their noses in the trough
ReplyDeleteAnon 0652, not an attempt to do anything. Just me stating the obvious.
ReplyDeleteOn the earlier post I asked you a question about your health which you have seen fit to ignore. How rude is that you self righteous little civil servant, you! There was me thinking the CS had manners!
0848, For the record I know plenty about Trade Unions having had to negotiate with them from the HR side over the years. Yes, they do much to protect the rights of their members in the day to day sense. Nonetheless, far too many of their leaders become more politically motivated and use their positions to create political mischief rather than serving the best interests of their members.
ReplyDeleteMany also get a taste for the fat cat life style and become self serving in the process. Scargyl was more about bringing down a government than protecting the miners and he screwed their jobs in pursuit of his own political agenda.
All fact, not newspaper hype.
My apologies, Anon 10.31, I overlooked that bit. I clearly don't have your fastidious attention to detail - picking up and commenting on the 24 hour clock, for goodness sake! You're clearly a bit of a wag.
ReplyDeleteNot quite ready to get back in the saddle, so to speak, according to my doctors, so it looks as though I won't be able to go on strike. I'll have to make a donation to the strike fund should one be established.
Thank you for asking, albeit adding the rather naughty "self-righteous" bit. Hmmm.
By the way, picking up on your point about the recent news story about Ezekiel, I did say that there might, in the end, be no news story for exactly the reasons you've repeated. We are as one on this.
Does anyone still remember when they didn't pay councillors didn't the Tory/Conservatives used to be a Union ?
ReplyDeleteSomething has clearly gone dreadfully wrong especially at KCC Who are they supposed to represent obviously not the people just themselves
2:29, not only do I remember when they did not pay councillors but also before Labour introduced politics in local government. Now those were the days where local people of some standing in the community put something back by giving of their time and expertise freely.
ReplyDeleteSadly politics screwed all that and, with the arrival of Labour councillors, frequently less well heeled than the old independents, came the call for remuneration packages. They, in turn and as with TUC leaders, got out of hand to the point that in some places council leaders were earning more than the PM.
Sadly, you reap what you sew and if, as I suspect, you are a Labour supporter, you now know where to look.
You have (quite wrongly) rose-tinted views about the history of local government representation, Anon 17.17. They are solely your opinions, not fact, and we have already debated them on another thread.
ReplyDeleteNot everyone subscribes to your liking for forelock touching and your apparent view that there are worthies in society who deserve special treatment and attention.
Council leader earning more than the PM? Pull the other one. The leader of KCC, one of the biggest councils in the land, gets about £54k, the leader of TDC about £23k and the PM £142k and he also gets free accomodation in London and in a country pile, and a big fat pension.
ReplyDelete5:31, as you so rightly say we have debated this elsewhere, but clearly you paid no attention.
ReplyDeleteI once saluted holders of the Queen's Commission of higher rank than myself, but I do not do forelock touching. The worthies you refer to were frequently local business people, clergy and retired professionals, the very kind of people other folk might like to have running their towns and parishes.
One of our biggest problems today is we have people leading who have had absolutuely no leadership training or experience and who, in many cases, are seriously short on any kind of business acumen. That is why we are in the claggy!
06:16, you ignore the fact that many councillors serve at parish, district and county level, all of which carry a seperate allowance. Then there are cabinet posts, members for specific responsibilities and leader positions both for the party in office and in opposition. All carry additional amounts. Add them all togerther and some councillors are on a nice little earner.
ReplyDeleteSome leaders of London boroughs get paid more than the leader of the KCC and then, of course, there was Derek Hatton or have you conveniently forgotten about his
days in the trough.
Anon 2:29, I was interested in your comment about the Conservatives having once been a union although the union you refer to is that of our kingdoms and not of the trade variety.
ReplyDeleteMany years ago it used to be the Conservative & Unionist Party, the unionist bit being those folk in the Ulster who supported the Union of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. During the 'Troubles' however the two elements became more distant and operated as entirely seperate political parties.
Sorry if that spoils some quaint notion you had of the Tories once being 'bruvvers.' Mind you, I know many Tories who are members of unions for such exist for members of professions, trades and industries and were not intended as the part of the Labour party they have become. A fact that probably contributes to their much reduced membership from their peak.
Anon 07.48 your post seems to be lacking in facts just unfounded claims. Give me the facts for Derick Hatton then. I have them, he was paid as a lowly worker on Kirby council. He was also found not guilty on council fraud. We await locally with interest. The allowances I gave for KCC and TDC leaders include all the allowances for being leader. If the same person lead KCC, TDC and a parish it would still come to less than £80k but not many people could find the time to lead KCC and another council.
ReplyDeleteleader of Liverpool council £44k.
leader of Westminster council £47k
leader of Kensington & Chelsea £64k.
Not exactly PM size rewards.
09:09 A councillor on several ascending tiers of councils can, and frequently does collect allowances, for all three. Such a councillor could also hold one or more cabinet posts though I would agree with you that to be leader of more than one council is unlikely.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, I am not sure what we are arguing about here for my original comment was more about the introduction of remuneration for councillors and how it came about than the actual amounts involved, as well as being historic, not current.
If you want to go on believing that some councillrs do not enjoy nice little earners from their positions, be my guest. Oh, and as a point of interest, who is the 'we' who are waiting or is it a bit like the royal 'one' usage!
How many separate Anons does it take to confuse a right-wing amateur historian?
ReplyDeleteRather a lot I would say, old boy!
ReplyDeletetony, don't forget the Icelandic £50,000,000. Although we may have got/getting most of it back, the money lost will still run into millions as that deposit should have been earning money in the commercial paper world.
ReplyDelete£50,000,000 over three years even with todays low interest rates still runs to millions. Funny they don't ever talk about this.
Why would they 9:29 when it has been flogged to death in the media over a long time now. Who should be mentioning it in your view or is it just your little periodic snipe at the KCC.
ReplyDeleteShit happens so live with it amd move on.
Incidentally, 9:11, just who are the professional historians gracing these pages? You maybe?
Certainly not, Anon. As I have said before, all our contributions are just the ramblings of local nobodys. I guess there may be a professional historian amongst Tony's readership, but who knows?
ReplyDeleteLocal nobodies, now there is an interesting description from someone who talks about worthies. I wonder what constitutes the difference between a nobody and a worthy? In my book, we are all individuals, all important to ourselves and maybe a few folk who care and, at the end of the line, all equal. Just some have different skills and talents than others.
ReplyDeleteTrouble with our society today is we put the wrong talents in the wrong places in pursuit of some daft liberal concept of equality. Where I would agree with you is that our ramblings on this site will make no difference.
Shouldn't you be working, Anon? I am comfortable with the concept of "nobodys" in the context of your last sentence. There, we - finally - agree on something.
ReplyDeleteEx-officer hence protracted lunch hours down the mess. In any case, like I told you, I'm demob happy.
ReplyDeleteThe KCC halo has slipped a bit more today. It looks like BigNews is not the only one looking after the interests of Kent's tax payers.
ReplyDeleteLooks like KCC has been failing the vunerable again.
Big brother Watch
Everybody is failing the elderly so why pick on KCC. One sometimes wonders how much tax you people want to pay to support all the services you think should be provided. Whatever happened to that society where familes looked after their own elderly. Something even the North American Indians people did long before care homes.
ReplyDeleteKCC are only experts in losing data, money & children, so many coverups it makes one wonder how they have the cheek to charge for their so called services or for their over paid & rated councillors. Should all be made to pay their allowances back, that would soon put their unlawful council tax down.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.kentonline.co.uk/kentonline/news/2011/november/23/kent_council_among_worst_in_uk.aspx
ReplyDeletewhats shocking is that they are allowed to continue fleecing the public
Kent young Rappers telling the truth about the hidden agenda here in Kent should be played daily on kent radio stations , bet they wouldn’t dare !
ReplyDeletehttp://soundcloud.com/krayze/krayze-anti-social-services
http://soundcloud.com/krayze/forced-adoption-krayze-ratley
Rap is not English music and should be banned in England. Maybe if we banned it all the rappers would leave - what a pleasure that would be.
ReplyDeleteI have no taste for rap either, Anon, but should we ban all music emanating from abroad - which is certainly most classical music, including opera?
ReplyDeleteNo, 4:28, just rubbish that passes for music. Indeed, someone talking in so called street cred lingo could hardly be called music anyway.
ReplyDeleterubbish er how about opening your eyes to the truth for once in your life if the truth is allowed of course in our "free country"
ReplyDeleteThe Tragedies of Brown & Thatcher
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lah5tADqdjE
WARNING: There are disturbing scenes of a deceased baby in this film and viewers discretion is STRONGLY recommended. The film is PART ONE in the lives of Cornel James Brown Jnr & Nicola Tracy Thatcher. The couple, who have very mild learning difficulties, have been outrageously treated by professionals from within UK government funded institutions, in particular Lambeth Social Services.
Includes interview with Kate Hoey MP at the House of Commons and Lie-detector test results.
Part Two will be available soon from www.pienmashfilms.com
I suspect, Anon, although we disagree on much - assuming I have the right (MOD) Anon - our musical tastes may be close. If that's so, I wonder if the other Anon is drawing on a ploy behind one of the more obscure Italian operas?
ReplyDeleteToo deep for me 6:12, not being a particular fan of opera either, but I guess he was heading in the racism direction. You know, if its ethnic these days we have to love it.
ReplyDeleteSo back on topic, looks like KCC anouncement on current Chief Exective Officer Katherine Kerswell will be made on Monday.
ReplyDeleteI see Network Rail are being charged with the death of two teenagers. Any comment Tony?
ReplyDeleteI Doubt it clive
ReplyDelete12:02 Charged is not convicted and until the full facts are revealed in court there is no way of knowing who, if anyone, has committed an offence. Hence, comment at this time in any detail would be prejudiciary.
ReplyDeleteNonetheless you have made your snide little point and lets hope you slept better for it. Albeit you were burning the midnight oil as normal.
I thought not, then again I guess that's not a taxi firm.
ReplyDeleteNo comment to make on the latest crisis of the Tories at TDC either I see, then again I guess that's not Labour.
12:36 PM
ReplyDeleteGive the chap time, but if it's comment you want on the Tory resigning go to Worrow's World, thanetonline or Thanet Waves. Sure Thanet Lab will be giving it loads of wellie as well.
Enjoy your moment, peasant.
When the LIVERIES are involved at KCC, you know you're in with the bad guys.
ReplyDeleteAnon of 14.07, please bear in mind that not all of the anonymous posts with which you take issue are from the same source! I even doubt they are all, truly, from what you would describe as your "lefty friends".
ReplyDeleteI really do not care what source they are from, left, right, green or the MRLP, for, if I disagree with them, I will respond. Please don't take it so personally.
ReplyDeleteBill Maloney will be on the LOU COLLINS radio show at 12 noon today bringing Lou up to date with things since his and Lilly's interview on EMTV. And his latest film THE TRAGEDIES OF BROWN AND THATCHER, highlighting the outrageous failures of UK Social Services. http://www.soundartradio.org.uk/ Just click the 'listen live' button.
ReplyDeletePress listen live on this link
12:34 He could just as easily cover the tragedies of Attlee and Eden or Callaghan and Major or Even McMillan and Wilson. The poor old country and its peoples have not been best served by the assortment of so called leaders since 1945. Forgetting political blinkers, there has not been a true leader amongst the lot of them.
ReplyDeleteYou are right Anon child stealing has been happening far beyond 1945 and all covered up by the traitor leaders of this and other countries.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't be surprised if Worrow departure was part of the plan to try to deflect away from the childrens issues/appalling abuses authorized by KCC, quite clearly Wells would know all about them.
Anyone have an update on the matter in question? Apparently she has not been seen at her desk for over a month now. Think it would be in the public's interest to know where she is as we are paying her rather substantial salary?!!
ReplyDeleteThought she has been given the push with a £400,000 backhander ???
ReplyDeleteMind you the last authority she ran didnt have a very good record either on child stealing for forced adoptions.
So now we just have the Trustee public servant councillors and legal team running the show, God help us all!
SOCIAL WORKERS 'SEX UP ABUSE CLAIMS TO SNATCH CHILDREN FOR ADOPTION'
ReplyDeletehttp://paper.li/LondonFilms/1320153413
How many corporate parents will be held responsible for the actions of KCC part in these atrocities?
Should all involved in this child trafficking for cash lose their liberties as well as their families
?
How about letting the MP's who have allowed the coverups and ignored the pleas of whistle blowers and victimized families joining them, alongside all the judges / CAFCASS/SS public servants involved who really should be locked up for a very long time and the key thrown away especially those in Kent!
They think can do whatever they like but they can never escape liability and need to be sued as the ‘Crown’ KCC have no claims against the indigenous people let alone their heirs and have no excuses for what they have done in trespassing upon their inherent rights and all need to be sued in the Queens Bench.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it a terrible state of affairs that we have to depend on foreign journalists and media to find out what is happening in Bent Britain as the Europeans are now calling us .
ReplyDeleteIs this what KCC is so very worried about , watch from 60 minutes Florence Bellone winning her award for exposing corruption.
http://ec.europa.eu/avservices/video/videoplayer.cfm?ref=81783