FURY AT £35k JOLLY DAYS OUT

Union hits out at Town Hall four-star trip to seaside

UNIONS have blasted the Town Hall for funding a three-day trip to the seaside for council staff and headteachers in the same week they announced a package of cuts to some youth groups.

Unison, the public sector workers union, said their members were disgusted with the news that 40 headteachers and 20 education department staff had been to the four-star Haven Hotel in Poole, Dorset for a council organised conference. The ‘Leading and Learning’ conference, which ran from Wednesday to Friday, is estimated to have cost around £35,000.

The agenda included a talk entitled ‘Courageous leadership: lessons from Macbeth’ by theatre director Richard Olivier, and a talk by Whitehall education mandarin Sue Hackman.

The hotel offers full board with conference facilities for around £200 per person, per night.

Camden Unison branch secretary David Eggmore said his members were angry that such a large amount of cash could be spent on sending staff away for a few days when Camden owned a number of possible build-ings it could have used for such a conference. 

He said: “We had phone calls  from our members in the Children, Schools and Family directorate who were very concerned and angry that precious resources have been used to send senior managers and head teachers to a top hotel by the seaside for three days.”

The union said members were angered further because staff had recently been given an internal document entitled Ways Of Working – which implores staff to save cash by looking at doing their tasks more  efficiently.

Mr Eggmore continued: “This comes at a time when these same managers are pushing ways of working – which include finding ‘better and cheaper ways of doing things’. Front line managers and staff are struggling with increasingly tight budgets to ensure services do not suffer and the most vulnerable people are looked after.

“Four star hotels for the highest paid is not finding better and cheaper ways of doing things. This is not leadership by example – and in the light of the announcement that a number of important youth projects have not got the funding they wish, such use of public funds must be questioned.”

One head teacher, who refused to be named, said they felt the surroundings were unnecessary. They said: “I couldn’t help thinking that the same event could have been held closer to home and at a smaller cost. I have to work hard to raise funds each year for many basic items and I could do with extra staff. Holding a conference out of town is nice for those who go to it – but I did wonder if it was absolutely necessary.”

Education chief Tory Councillor Andrew Mennear, who went to the conference, defended the trip. He said: “It is sensible for the heads to get together in a relaxed environment and discuss issues.”

He added in the future he would be open to ideas about holding the conference in venues it Camden.

Labour councillor Theo Blackwell said: “While the executive member for children Cllr John Bryant was cutting youth funds, Cllr Mennear – who is in charge of schools – was off on an expensive away jaunt. It makes you wonder if they’ve both got their priorities straight or if they even talk to each other.”