http://thesandwellskidder.blogspot.com/2019/03/the-talented-stuart-lackenby.html [See legal notice below]
In fact not only did Dudley turn a blind eye to his "serious moonlighting" Walsall Council did the same since he was working for them from August, 2010 to September, 2012 and he submitted his first invoice to Sandwell (or at least it was paid) on 8th September, 2011 via his company Star Support Limited! So he billed the comrades £451,000 from his sideline whilst raking in his salary and pension contributions from us taxpayers.
Some of the calls I get are very strange. Lately people have been deliberately sending me false information although, happily, my readers keep up a steady stream of the real stuff. A while ago someone - male - found out that I was having the odd meeting with Sandwell's new supremo (pictured below with The Squealer) and urged me to "sniff him". He assured me that I would smell Creed aftershave which, he explained, was very expensive. As I am not in the habit of sniffing men, wouldn't recognise the aroma of Creed and probably couldn't register it anyway against my own fragrance of stale p*ss, I let this pass. As it is Mr Stevens denies using it. But maybe I should have been able to smell something else - MONEY!
For now it seems that Dave had an odd set-up of his own back in the day! The new Chief Executive has not up-dated his LinkedIn page yet but this shows that he started at Sadders in March, 2011. Prior to that he says he was an independent consultant for a couple of years.
The job interview with the comrades must have been interesting since our Dave was already in business with the benighted Borough via his and his wife's company, NUI Associates Limited (06299584.) Records on the SMBC website only start at November, 2010 and so it is not clear from the official figures whether he was doing "business" with the "socialists" before then? Before he joined the payroll he invoiced the Council and was paid:
£7,700 07/11/10; £8,250 06/12/10; £5,600 06/01/11; and £7,700 06/02/11.
After joining the invoices and payments continue:
£7,000 06/03/11; £8,050 31/03/11; £8,100 01/05/11; £9,900 01/08/11; £9,450 also 01/08/11, £9,900 01/09/11; £9,900 01/02/12 and £9,900 01/02/12.
Total £101,250
Mr Stevens says that before he joined Jan Britton's bent paid service he was employed as the "Putting People First" - "lol" - programme manager. He was paid via his company (at that time he was the sole shareholder) rather than being employed and billed the Council £44,100 over an unknown period of time. But in March, 2011 he became what he calls on LinkedIn, a "development manger" [sic] but once again he didn't go on the payroll but billed for his time via his company. At that time it was most definitely more tax advantageous to contract via a service company (although he would seemingly not get all the benefits of an employee eg pension contributions.) For some peculiar reason he was not taken on the books again but he declines to say why this was. He was only an interim Manager (rather than director level) but charged a mere £57,000+ for those six/seven months. Not bad in 2011!
From October, 2011 he was given a permanent contract and taken onto the books. The sharp-eyed amongst you will have noticed that some of the payments listed above are dated into 2012 but the new boss insists that this was just late payment of invoices submitted before October, 2011 - not exactly evidence of efficiency from the bent paid service!
On 31st July, 2012 our Dave had a stonking £101,698 in his Company's account. But on 31st March, 2013 - shortly before the end of the personal tax year - he issued 99 shares to his wife against his one so that she now became the "person with significant control". The obvious reasons for this are (a) to hide his involvement in the Company by making it look like his wife's or (b) to save tax by using his wife's tax personal allowances if she had any available (perfectly legal) or (c) both of these things. I have asked Mr Stevens why he did this but he has refused to say.
Our new "Slim Controller" became a service director in September, 2012 in adult social care in September, 2012 just as the man who was to become his trusted lieutenant, Lackenby, was ramping up his bills to Sandwell Council to well over £100,000 per annum. I do not know if Mr Stevens knew Mr Lackenby at this time but as a "service director" one imagines he knew of Star Support and was happy with the service provided, whatever that was.
A curious thing here though is that I have asked Mr Stevens twice in writing if he has ever been in business with Mr Lackenby? Rather than an unambiguous "no" the Skipper says that "he is not going to comment any further" on my questions!
In December, 2015 he became what he calls on LinkedIn (above) an Exectuve [sic] Director for Adult Social Care etc. Again one imagines that he must have been involved in Sandwell's appointment of a "Chief Operating Officer" in adult social care in June, 2016. Happily the succesful candidate was none other than Stuart James Lackenby! The latter's rise through the ranks has been swift.
Mr Lackenby's brother is also in the adult social care business. In the incestuous world of Sandwell Labour the comrades have also been able to find him a job at Walker Grange in Tipton. Hurrah!
As ever, any background info on all this very welcome........
The normally business-hating Labour Leader of the shambolic Council, "Red Yvonne" Davies, promoted Dave to the top job, seemingly - and controversially - without any real competitive process. Perhaps she was actually enamoured with Mr S's past business acumen! Break out the Creed!
Donations
If you have a few quid spare a small donation would be welcome. Just £3 will pay for a Land Registry search. £6 will allow me a full day's scrutiny in and around Sadders. Please use the donate button on the right hand side of this post (if you are viewing via a mobile you need to click through to the web version to find the button.) Cheques also welcome to the address below.
A Reader Writes
I am always happy to print reader's views. This from a Sandwell gent (his opinion):
"My vote for biggest waste of highly paid staff employing consultants to do the 'real' work goes to Neighbourhoods. The Executive Director (Dr Alison Knight*) has 2 Directors (Amy Harhoff and Alan Caddick) working for her and they have 10 Service Managers/Project Directors working for them. All very good until it comes to setting up a housing company to deliver much needed Council housing. Wolverhampton considered this and established WV Living in 2016 which is delivering a number of housing developments but Sandwell prefer to merely talk about it. The latest discussion at Wednesday's Cabinet meeting reviewed a consultant's report by Savills and committed to comission a further follow-up consultants report as to how to set up a housing company. A ridiculous waste of money."
* Another Sandwell retread - see posts passim!
** For those that don't know Savills are a mega-expensive property firm. This comment begs the question why they were not originally instructed to do the whole job!
Comment - why don't SMBC pick up the phone and have a chat with Wolvo before shafting the taxpayer yet again!
And finally - Mr Wayne Trinder
Last December, the lumpen proletariat of large parts of Sandwell finally rose up against 46 years of sh*t Labour dictatorship and booted out the hapless candidates Corbyn and Co dumped on them. It is vital that folk don't slip back into the bad old ways and vote in the local elections in May. This is particularly so this year as next year is a "fallow year" ie there are no local elections and so you won't get another chance to build on December's gains for two years.
There are 25 seats up for grabs - the normal 24 (a third of the Council) plus the seat vacated by the untimely death of Cllr Lloyd. The important thing is to get at least five non-Labour candidates elected (if they can work together) since the be.t Labour Group have to then give them more information before meetings increasing the odds of proper scrutiny of their corruption or incompetence.
Realistically there is one big party that needs to get a result but I do commend an independent to you - Wayne Trinder. I have met Wayne and he is a sound bloke. He has been one of the tireless campaigners against the Bescot Sleeper Factory and here is a piece from another of that doughty group, Carol Whitehouse:
Don't forget you Friar Park people - Labour tried to dump Bogus Dogus on you at the general election - a man from London with a very dodgy past. The local comrades were initially upset but even though he crashed to a seismic defeat Hackett, the Giles clan, James and Co were happy to be pictured enjoying his hospitality at the Red Lion recently! They boasted how great it was to meet up with this plank again! Labour have treated Friar Park with utter contempt. You know what to do!
THE SANDWELL SKIDDER - COMMUNITY NEWS - READ THE SKIDDER, KIDDER!
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