Thanks go to Gerry Braiden at the Herald for taking the time sift through the bewilderingly complex details of these quangos.
As an exercise in Blairite civic reform the theory was simple: crack the city state of Glasgow and the rest would fall into line, domino style.
But rather than blaze the trail for Scotland, the creation of arm’s-length companies by the nation’s largest authority has raised more questions about accountability and transparency than provide solutions for weathering the economic crisis or, indeed, providing a model for 21st century public services.
Following revelations that former leader Steven Purcell, who resigned amid blackmail fears and admissions of alcohol and drug abuse, used his network of Aleos to buy the support of friends, colleagues and even some dissidents, it has now emerged that he and his councillor colleagues set their own salaries for sitting on their boards.
When setting up the Aleos, a group including elected members and department officials, would look at what councillors were receiving from sitting on outside bodies such as the SECC, health or fire boards and what the special responsibility allowances – since scrapped for being overused and untenable – were paying. From that they would arrive at a figure they believed best reflected the responsibilities being undertaken in the new Aleo. This would then be approved by the council’s head of finance.
More at heraldscotland
“The sheer weight of numbers means Labour always has the ultimate veto but there is a valid argument that all parties have been complicit.”
Brilliant! Absolutely magnificent!
Because all the parties are involved there’s less chance of it getting sorted, if at all. What a shower of ********!
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