Hull council pays ‘consultants’ £1m to oversee job cuts

Consulting giant Deloitte has been drafted in to modernise Hull Council’s business support section – a move which will see up to 240 jobs axed.

The cash-strapped authority, which shed 1,000 jobs last year, has already paid Deloitte £330,000 to help “replace a largely paper-driven bureaucracy with a more focused, modern and efficient business model”.

But councillors are due to discuss additional payments of up to £780,000 to Deloitte for the latest stage of the project, as well as £250,000 on honoraria for seconded staff.

Coun Mike Ross, deputy leader of the opposition Liberal Democrats, said: “For a cash-strapped council to pay more than £1m for consultants is a slap in the face for the taxpayer. We had misgivings about how this was handled from the start and some of our fears are beginning to be proved right.”

Axing jobs in finance, HR, IT and service support, as part of plans to create what officials describe as a business model “with e-enabled manager self-service at its heart” will cost £3.2m in redundancy payments, it has emerged.

The council hopes to save £5.7m in the first two years. Coun Phil Webster said: “Deloitte are going to be monitored through the next 18 months and money will be released on the completion of targeted savings. If they don’t deliver, they don’t get paid, simple as.”

Council leader Steve Brady said: “Private companies as well as councils up and down the country do buy in expertise. If you look in the context of the previous administration who spent £7m over a couple of years and they projected savings of £35m and only made £3m savings...this one is paid by results.”

But Unison Hull City branch secretary Adrian Kennett said: “They are relying on creating this all-singing, all-dancing computer system, but ours and other authorities’ experience it that it doesn’t work. It will end in tears.”