Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Cash-strapped Council spends £187k at exclusive hotels and golf clubs...

How much of your money do you think Lincolnshire County Council spent last year at some of the county's most exclusive hotels, Golf Clubs and restaurants...
Would you believe a staggering £187,000...? That's the figure exposed in tonight's Lincolnshire Echo.

As you'll see, yours truly is quoted in the story: I'm angry that just a few months ago, the Tories who run the council claimed they were so cash-strapped that they had to treble home care charges from £40 to £120 a week for some of the most vulnerable pensioners.

I posted extensively on the disgraceful home care charges saga at the time (for example HERE and HERE as Labour councillors - and others - attempted, in vain, to force a rethink.

But the Tories claimed that the massive hike in home care charges was the only way out of their financial hole. It left some pensioners forced to find an EXTRA £4,000 a year.

What angers me is that since then, the same council has been officially slammed - again - for providing some of the poorest social services in the entire country.

It's worth noting that justifying the £190,000 spend in the Echo is left to an officer rather than a Tory Cabinet member - exactly what happened when the new policy was presented for Executive decision at the Council.

The Tory councillor expected to present the policy decided not to attend the crucial meeting - apparently she had a much more important political engagement at Tory Party Conference!

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