News round-up 14/9: Kerswell under fire
Your daily media round up of all the key stories affecting local government
Kerswell move
The Daily Mail covers former Kent CC managing director Katherine Kerswell’s move to the civil service (see LGC’s version of the story here.)
Describing Ms Kerswell as a “fat cat,” it says she “caused anger” when she “walked away [from Kent CC] with a £420,000 pay-off.” It says Ms Kerswell’s £142,000 salary in her new post as the Cabinet Office’s director general for civil service reform is “just £500 less than the Prime Minister.”
Education
The headteacher of an academy school rated as outstanding by Ofsted has been suspended pending a police investigation into “serious allegations” of financial irregularity at the school, the Guardian reports.
It says Jo Shuter, head of Quintin Kynaston school in St John’s Wood, north London, has claimed the allegations are “malicious and vindictive.”
Local services
The Independent reports that all local services could eventually be outsourced to private companies, according to a report by think tank Localis.
Cabinet Office Minister Oliver Letwin welcomed the report, stating that he believed that “15 or 20 years from now, we will find a Britain in which people can’t imagine how things used to be so centralised”.
However, Unison condemned the proposals, highlighting the recent failures of the private sector in providing public services, the paper says.
Children in care
Speaking on the Today Programme, Jim Sullivan, co-chair of the Independent Children’s Homes Association (ICHA), said local authorities were now being asked to place children closer to home. He said some children were placed regionally, but some children needed to be placed further away from home for their own safety.
Conservative leadership
Prime Minister David Cameron’s leadership faced new pressure last night as 14 MPs backed calls to remove him, reports today’s Independent. It says the group wrote to the chairman of the 1922 Committee asking for a leadership challenge.
Hillsborough
South Yorkshire Police have announced their intention to refer the Hillsborough case to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), the Guardian reports.
Equalities
The Daily Telegraph reports that a councillor who said a minefield should be planted around a travellers’ site has “been told to attend equality training.” It says the South Cambridgeshire DC councillor Mervyn Loynes (Con) was investigated after making what council leader Ray Manning (Con) described as a “silly remark in private.”
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Readers' comments (2)
Graham669 | 14-Sep-2012 2:55 pm
With the rampant damage been perpetrated on the economic and social fabric of this country, by this gang of charlatans that claim to run a coalition government, it is time there was a general election.
But of course these wreckers, as one of their first policy actions set a fixed five year term for a government! Ensuring that they have time to wreak the maximum damage to the country.
With a chancellor who cannot produce or manage a working fiscal policy, and a prime minister who has no idea how to put together a decent cabinet, roll on 2015!
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patrick newman | 14-Sep-2012 10:21 pm
In view of Erica Pickles comments on displaced CE's being lucratively recycled - boomerang bosses - LGC should ask him what he thinks of Ms Kerswell's appointment. He might also like to enquire why nobody better qualified to reform the civil service was attracted by the town hall 'rich list' style salary of £142,000.
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