Save the,er,Badger (!?)

Wealthy West Bromwich East MP, the expenses-guzzling Watson, rarely lets a bandwagon roll past without heaving his ample bulk aboard. I was unaware that WB East was cursed by rampant bovine tuberculosis or overrun by friend Brock but, nevertheless, Watters took to Twitter some months ago with the rallying call to "Save the Badger!" Unfortunately, some of the ever-diminishing band of employees at Sandwell Council (SMBC) seem to have got the wrong end of the stick.....

On 4th July,2013 an event was held at The Kremlin in Oldbury. It has been described as a "bereavement registration event" or perhaps more unfortunately given the funerary theme, a "Legal & Governance Away-Day". Sounds a bit of a bore doesn't it? Well in true SMBC-style the answer was to throw some taxpayers' money at it and so we get this:

"The Director of Legal Services requested that a training day be arranged to be led my a motivational speaker who could demonstrate, through actual experience and success, that business opportunities could be harnessed and taken to market. It was felt desirable to if possible [sic] the individual should be from the West Midlands. It was decided......that Ruth Badger fitted this criteria.....she is from the Black Country."

"The Badge", as she became affectionately known via some TV stuff, may have come from the Black Country but she now operates from offices in Imperial Court, SALFORD, Manchester. I have no knowledge of her current business activities and suspect that she may well be a very good motivational speaker etc. Whether she has any experience of local authority governance, matters legal or "bereavement registration", I know not but, so what, she was only charging £3,000 + expenses (excluding VAT) for the day.That apparently constituted "best value" for the poor old Sandwell taxpayer and so she was lured from her faraway sett.

In passing, since 2012 much of the legal work at SMBC has been "outsourced" to a private firm of solicitors called Ashfords with offices just down the road from The Kremlin in,er, Exeter, Bristol, London, Plymouth, Taunton & Tiverton. Fortunately for the Sandwell taxpayer, the remuneration of the aforesaid Director of Legal Services has, accordingly, been kept to a modest £124,521 per annum.

Ruth Badger, as a good business woman, asked for half-payment up front and duly submitted an invoice for £1,500 on 7th May, 2013. Oh dear, the unfortunate (senior) Council Officer - named on SMBC's own website as, and I kid you not, "The Cemeteries Boss" - who made the booking had not followed Council procurement procedures by eg. shopping around other "motivational speakers", getting cheaper quotes etc. Not a problem at SMBC. Complete form NC1 and the deal is approved and payment made.*

Note the date of the invoice. SMBC forking out for this and then on 9th May (two-days later) announcing the closure of The Public - allegedly on costs grounds.

The event duly took place (as with everything SMBC - "a great success") and Ruth Badger invoiced for her further £1,500 ex vat plus £82.80 mileage (ex-Vat). I am not sure where she travelled from - possibly not Salford - as she claimed a further £11 (ex- VAT) for the M6 toll! Accordingly, her "motivational skills" for the cemetery boys and girls cost the taxpayer a VAT- exclusive figure of only £3,093.80p.

And so - were "business opportunities harnessed" and "taken to market" in the "socialist" Borough? What we can say is that on 25th November the Express and Star reported that the costs of burial in Sandwell were "to soar". As ever, the rent-a-gob SMBC "leader",Cooper, was quick to tell the paper that this was all due to Government "cuts" (and,of course, nothing to do with SMBC's debt-fuelled - and continuing - spending orgy).

Yesterday, The Birmingham Mail headlined a piece; "Why you wouldn't want to be caught dead in Sandwell...." and published a table (prepared by the GMB Union) which showed the burial costs of 22 local authorities in the region. Sandwell was the highest at £2,611 (Nuneaton lowest at £715) and SMBC was third highest of 22 for cremation costs at £1,837 (lowest East Staffs £375). Something to be proud of, indeed!

The good "socialists" at SMBC are just planning Council Tax increases AND large inflation-busting rent increases. I do hope the shock doesn't kill you and that your "away day" is still some way off......

PS Are SMBC holding a similar event this year?

ALL INFO RE SANDWELL COUNCIL & SANDWELL COLLEGE TO:

VERNON GRANT, BOX 374, 27 COLMORE ROW, BIRMINGHAM B3 2EW

TWITTER - @bcrover

* Note for Kremlin nerds only - although there were two invoices from Ruth Badger Consultancy I am only aware of ONE form NC1. This technical stuff will feature again in another blog post.