Tag: Consultants

Letter from Mike Fletcher

The following message was received today from Mike Fletcher Chairman of the Sustainable Growth Scrutiny Committee who was reportedly barred by Peterborough City Council Leader Marco Cereste from the Task and Finish Group set up to investigate Peterborough City Council’s use of and spending on consultants.
It is published here as a matter of public interest. Copyright remains with Cllr. Fletcher.

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Att:- Adam Uren, ET. New Listener. 27th April 2010.
Continue reading “Letter from Mike Fletcher”

The Big Election Debate

A one hour debate between the three main candidates for the Peterborough seat in the 2010 general Election. Broadcast at 09:00 on Tuesday 20th April 2010 in the Paul Stainton Breakfast Show on BBC Radio Peterborough.

A one hour debate between the three main candidates for the Peterborough seat in the 2010 General Election. Broadcast at 09:00 on Tuesday 20th April 2010 in the Paul Stainton Breakfast Show on BBC Radio Peterborough.

STAINTON: Good morning. It’s nine o’clock. Welcome to a specially extended Peterborough Breakfast Show, the big election debate for Peterborough between now and ten for the Peterborough Parliamentary seat, between the three main parties. For Conservatives Stewart Jackson, Ed Murphy for Labour, and also Nick Sandford for the Liberal Democrats. Good morning gentlemen. How are you? Are you alright?
ALL: Good morning.
STAINTON: We’ll start with Stewart, the former Peterborough MP, of course, no longer. He’s got to bid for it again. Stewart MP for Peterborough since two thousand and five, winning with a majority of two thousand seven hundred and forty votes, a former Lloyds Bank manager before becoming an MP. Worked with Business Link in London, also a councillor in Ealing for eight years. Stewart is currently Chairman of the All England Party Group on Pakistan. He was appointed as the Shadow Minister for Communities and Local Government, and had front bench responsibility. In his spare time he enjoys reading biographies, travel, architecture, history, swimming and bungee jumping. He’s married to Sarah, and has a daughter Isabel. Good morning Stewart Jackson.
JACKSON: Good morning Paul.
STAINTON: You’ve got your chance to sell yourself for a minute to the electorate. They’re listening. Continue reading “The Big Election Debate”

Marco Cereste on Eurotramps and Value for Money

Marco Cereste Conservative Leader of Peterborough City Council and Chair of NHS Peterborough comments on efforts to dislodge homeless migrants from their makeshift camps, and on the use of consultants to achieve the £27 million NHS Peterborough spending cuts required to combat the ongoing deficit. Broadcast at 08:10 on Monday 19th April 2010 in the Paul Stainton Breakfast Show on BBC Radio Peterborough.

Marco Cereste Conservative Leader of Peterborough City Council and Chairman of NHS Peterborough comments on efforts to dislodge homeless migrants from their makeshift camps, and on the use of consultants to achieve the £27 million NHS Peterborough spending cuts required to combat the ongoing deficit. Broadcast at 08:10 on Monday 19th April 2010 in the Paul Stainton Breakfast Show on BBC Radio Peterborough.

STAINTON: Now a group of migrants living in a makeshift camp in Peterborough will be forced off the site if they haven’t left by mid-day today. Six immigrants have been living rough near Potters Way for about six months. Two weeks ago they were told to leave by the UK Border Agency and the City Council. Peterborough City Council Leader Marco Cereste is with us. Good morning Marco.
CERESTE: Hello Paul. Good morning. How are you?
STAINTON: I’m very good, thank you. Very good indeed. Just explain to us why they have to be moved on.
CERESTE: Well first of all it’s an illegal encampment. And they are sitting on council land, on public land, and making a nuisance of themselves. Continue reading “Marco Cereste on Eurotramps and Value for Money”

Peterborough City Council and Consultants Part Three – for research purposes only

The relationship between Peterborough City Council and consultants is becoming a cause for concern for some councillors. This page examines the latest announcements.

Continued from Part Two

The following documents all dated 20 October 2009 are in the public domain:

1. Peterborough regulates spend on consultants. Link
2. Realising the benefits of business transformation. Link
3. Creating a value-adding human resources service. Link
4. Transforming the way we work to cut cost and improve performance: . Link

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In 2008 Peterborough City Council established a professional services partnership (PSP), to consolidate and regulate its spending on consultancy.
Consultants “landed and expanded”, often taking roles that should be filled internally.
Consultancy was poorly and often non-compliantly procured. Continue reading “Peterborough City Council and Consultants Part Three – for research purposes only”

Marco Cereste on the NHS Peterborough Deficit

Marco Cereste Chair of NHS Peterborough comments on the crticisms levelled at him following the announcement that this year NHS Peterborough overspent by a far greater amount than expected, and that next year it will need to reduce its spending by tens of millions of pounds to balance the books. Broadcast at 08:10 on Friday 26th March 2010 in the Paul Stainton Breakfast Show on BBC Radio Peterborough.

Marco Cereste Chair of NHS Peterborough comments on the criticisms levelled at him following the announcement that this year NHS Peterborough overspent by a far greater amount than expected, and that next year it will need to reduce its spending by tens of millions of pounds to balance the books. Broadcast at 08:10 on Friday 26th March 2010 in the Paul Stainton Breakfast Show on BBC Radio Peterborough.

PS: This is the big news locally that you’re waking up to. NHS Peterborough is planning to make twenty seven millions of pounds of cutbacks next financial year. But people in Peterborough seemingly won’t lose out on health care. Here’s interim Chief Executive Sheila Bremner’s guarantee, shortly after a meeting of the Board of NHS Peterborough.(TAPE)
SB: We will seek to maintain the quality of services that we provide and make sure that we meet the needs of local people, absolutely.
Continue reading “Marco Cereste on the NHS Peterborough Deficit”

BBC Peterborough March 23rd 2010

The BBC Radio Peterborough Paul Stainton’s Breakfast Show summary for Tuesday 23rd March 2010.

The BBC Radio Peterborough Paul Stainton’s Breakfast Show summary for Tuesday 23rd March 2010.

Topics:
Labour suspends sleaze ministers. Further damaging revelations in progress.
Local group expresses concern at multiple Council and EEDA funded outlets on the High Street.
The Crown pub in Lincoln Road will reopen as a private members’ club.
Outsourcing of Council services: the head of the new Leisure Trust describes her vision.
Stanground College expansion plans unveiled as newbuild proceeds apace.
Posh play fellow strugglers Scunthorpe tonight. Gannon mulls his future.
Dirk Benedict (Face from the A-Team) stars as Colombo at the Key Theatre shortly.
Google abandons Chinese Govt. restraints on web content and redirects users to uncensored HK Google site.
Michael van Straten Health Guru visits the Alliance & Leicester Building Society with good advice for staff.
British banks will be obliged to provide a basic bank account to anyone who requires one.

Interviewees:
Gavin Elsey Cllr. and Member for Regional and Business Engagement Peterborough City Council.
Brian Gascoyne Chairman Millfield and New England Regeneration Partnership and Crown Landlord.
Sheila Smith Chair of the New Leisure Trust.
Chris Moncrieff ex-Press Association.
Michael van Straten Health Guru.
Rowen Squibb Growborough.
Graham Godson Scunthorpe Fan.
Allison Sunley Programme Director 14-19 Education Peterborough City Council.
Michael Cross Key Theatre.

Companies mentioned:
Cardea.
Primark.
TK Maxx.
Alliance & Leicester.

Team:
Presenter: Paul Stainton
Producer: Steve Titman
Sport: John Symes
News: Gabrielle Grindrod
Travel: Justin Peterson
Weather: John Gray
Phones: Kerry Devine
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Peterborough City Council and Consultants Update – for research purposes only

The relationship between Peterborough City Council and consultants is becoming a cause for concern for some councillors. This is an update on events up until 16th March 2010.

Continued from Part One

USE OF CONSULTANTS – SCRUTINY REVIEW
1. PURPOSE & BACKGROUND
1.1 This report has been prepared following a series of scrutiny meetings.
At a meeting of the Environment Capital Scrutiny Committee on 14th January 2010, to discuss the proposed council budget, the subject of use of consultants arose. The minutes of this meeting are attached at
Appendix 1.
It was agreed that the Sustainable Growth Scrutiny Committee be recommended to undertake an in-depth scrutiny review into the cost and effectiveness of the Council’s use of consultants and to make recommendations on the future use of consultants by the council to inform the development of budgets in future years.
Although not referred to in the minutes, the Executive Director – Strategic Resources, offered to meet with the Chair of the Sustainable Growth Scrutiny Committee to prepare the terms of reference for the review. That meeting did not take place and at its meeting held on 18th January 2010 the Sustainable Growth Scrutiny Committee produced a list of questions which it asked to be answered,
Quoted from this document: Use of Consultants – Scrutiny Review

===================== Continue reading “Peterborough City Council and Consultants Update – for research purposes only”

Interview with Mike Fletcher March 16th 2010

Interview with Cllr Mike Fletcher Chairman Sustainable Growth Scrutiny Committee Peterborough City Council following the meeting on Monday 15th March 2010 where Council was invited to account for it’s spending on consultants. Broadcast at 07:45 on 16th March 2010 in Paul Stainton’s BBC Peterborough Breakfast Show.

Interview with Cllr Mike Fletcher Chairman Sustainable Growth Scrutiny Committee Peterborough City Council following the meeting on Monday 15th March 2010 where Council was invited to account for it’s spending on consultants. Broadcast at 07:45 on 16th March 2010 in Paul Stainton’s BBC Peterborough Breakfast Show.

PS: Now a review has begun into the amount of money the City Council spends on consultants. You may remember last week we broke the news that we’d spent something like .. was it nine million or something like that I don’t know? It was a million pounds a month, wasn’t it? Something like that. Five councillors will now spend six months looking at the cost of experts, and the amount of money they save the Council. It was twelve million, wasn’t it? We revealed on the Breakfast Show that it was twelve million for this financial year and Cllr. Mike Fletcher is Chairman of the Sustainable Growth Scrutiny Committee. Morning Mike.
MF: Good morning.
PS: The purpose of the meeting?
MF: Well to enquire into the use of consultants, and see just how effective they are. I can assure you that if I have anything to do with it, it’s not going to take six months, more like six weeks.
Continue reading “Interview with Mike Fletcher March 16th 2010”