The TDC headcount in full

Dear Mr Garbutt

Thank you for your communication received on 14/10/2009.

I can respond to your queries as follows:

1. If you can email which companies/amounts TDC invests in each year - a summary is fine. Is the £2m investment a reduction or a fall in shares performance?

At 31 March 2008 the Council had the following investments:
- Glitner Bank £3.016m
- Irish Nationwide Building Society £4.041m
- Landsbanki Islands £1.001m
- Bank of Scotland £1.005m

At 31 March 2009 the Council had the following investments:
- Debt Management Office £5.9m
- Alliance and Leicester £1.036m

The level of investments depends entirely on cash flow requirements and therefore the level of investments at year end can vary significantly between years.

(Weren't we told by TDC that they hadn't invested in Icelandic Banks and it's hardly spectacualr investing in the "Debt Management Office" ie putting the funds back into the Treasury. But with a £2M loss).

2. Payroll: please provide with any censored info. Seems unecessary secrecy:

I note councillors names/costs are public. Also the headcount by dept.

This is a request for personal data which is exempt under S44 of the 2000 Freedom of Information Act. However, I can confirm that the headcount per department is as follows:

Chief Executive's Department 16
Community Services 105
Customer Services 142
Environmental Services 275
Finance and Corporate Services 80
Legal and Democratic Services 14
Regeneration and Economic Development 102

Total 734

(A 25% increase in staffing in 2 years. And why the secrecy on revealing civil servants expenses and salary and cars? It's all public funds).

3. Tram Shelter: no money was paid to TDC?

As explained in my previous response, we have been unable to trace whether we received any insurance monies for this site.

(Strange I understand insurancs money was collected but it seems to have been swallowed up on salaries and the like. Not effective administration if they can't even trace the funds.).

4. EKO is made up of TDC and KCC therefore is public but please forward Baker Tilly details also

I can confirm that Baker Tilly's details are as follows:

Baker Tilly UK Audit LLP
Chartered Accountants
Hanover House
18 Mount Ephraim Road
Tunbridge Wells
Kent TN1 1ED

(Strange to set up a mini-quango of TDC and KCC - then incur extra costs setting it up as a "company" and a need for an audit when it's all public officials and public funds. Utter waste and lack of transparency).

5. A £7m reserve is held each year and then continually carried over?

As previously explained, the £7m balance relates to the investments held at the end of the 2008/09 financial year.

This money is drawn down when required to meet the Council's financial outgoings. The amount held will vary from year to year.

(A £7M reserve each year is excessive padding for muck-ups but at least shows there's plenty of fat in the TDC system.)

It's as if the civil servants don't have the foggiest on running towns well, and the councillors don't seem to be holding them to account.

How can councillors evaluate TDC's performance if they don't have the payroll and expenses etc?

The civil servants must be running rings round them.

Where has all the money gone? On more civil service jobs. Bowler hats on top of bowler hats until the towns fall down and burn down and then it's claimed that tax increases and cuts in services are required.

Nonsense.

Cuts in senior managment are required for failing to improve the towns or even TDC - one of Britain's worst councils - and the fraud of 0% pay rises and removal of air and noise monitors at an airport slated for expansion.

And the crony corruption of ChinaGate and tax havens of Pleasurama.

Failed. Failed. Failed.

Time for Change.