Hired help to make £1.25m cuts

There may be redundancies as a result of the review at Hull Council, councillors admitted yesterday.

More than half of Hull’s transport £11.4m budget is spent on concessionary travel, while nearly £2m is spent taking children to school and £1.3m on taking adults to day centres.

In a decision record Coun Phil Webster said he was “extremely disappointed” at using consultants to make £1.25m savings, a year after the council’s Cabinet agreed to keep it in-house.

He complained that senior management had never “taken it seriously” and the matter had “been left to slide” and “to all intents and purpose forced members hands to agree to the use of consultants.”

Transport portfolio holder Coun Martin Mancey said cuts to managers over the last few years meant there was less capacity, and in some cases, not the right skills, to make radical changes. He added: “The important thing is that the engagement of consultants will be on the basis that they will only be paid if and when they actually deliver the savings.”

The report talks about “reshaping of roles and possible reductions in the number of staff required.” Coun Mancey said there was a “potential for redundancy” and there could be a review of staffing numbers and working arrangements, but that would have to await the consultants’ report.

The Labour-run council was criticised in December for agreeing to pay London-based iMPOWER Consulting Ltd up to £415,000 to deliver £20m cuts to adult social care in Hull.