Anger as 'hard-up' council pays £188k for IT guru

Oct 6 2009 By Ed Saunt

FURY has erupted at Hounslow Council after it emerged the authority has been paying more than £185,000 a year for an IT consultant.

The sum paid out to contractor Tony Glew last year dwarfs the £140,000 salary of Chief Executive Mark Gilks and puts him on a par with PM Gordon Brown. It has caused particular anger given that 300 civic centre staff lost their jobs last year and 100 more posts are under threat.

Interim head of IT Mr Glew cost the council £165,000 in 46 weeks last year – the equivalent of £188,000 a year – while the appointment of Mike McCabe as interim head of communications cost £125,000.

The council has refused to provide further details or pictures of the two men, who are not employees of the council but are filling the lead officer roles on a temporary basis.

A former council employee told the Chronicle: “Many staff in the council are extremely angry at these appointments but are too afraid to speak out for fear of reprisals. They feel particularly frustrated that these appointments came after a major programme across the council last year which saw so many officers lose their jobs.”

Deputy leader of the Labour opposition, Councillor Ruth Cadbury added: “I think this sends a very poor message out to people who are losing their jobs and people whose colleagues are going and are having to do twice as much work for no additional pay.”

The IT and communications departments were given overhauls after the independent review by auditors KPMG last year, and council leader Councillor Peter Thompson argued that the use of specialist contractors in those departments 'makes sound business sense'.

“The continuing use of consultants in both these roles has been carefully planned and considered,” he added. “This is not something we do lightly and these are exceptional cases within the council. They are services that are undergoing significant change and we need people who can quickly bring specific skills and ideas to that process.”