Cllr Moylan is polite about my background in communications and I thank him!
If only I had had a few RBK&C's as clients I would by now be a rich man!
The problem is that the consultancy world see councils - and for that matter other taxpayer funded organisations - as easy prey. It is a case of 'in the land of the blind the one eyed man is king'.
The council should immediately review the payment of over £2,000 per week to Euro Biss Lancaster for 'promoting' traffic realignment at Exhibition Road.
I have no idea what the team's remit is but taking minutes of meetings seems is an absolute waste of money. Had I been on the council committee that sanctioned the appointment, I would have rejected an external consultancy and taken on freelance consultants at a fraction of the cost.
When the council sits on reserves of £180million (us taxpayer's money!) there is a tendency to be a little less than cautious in relation to spending plans.
The council now spends more than £1.5m a year on communications; nearly £400,000 a quarter. It is just far too much.
Every commercial enterprise in the UK is cutting back on communications spend and there is absolutely no reason why the council should not followthat example. We need to see the council ruthlessly cutting out waste at a time when taxpayers are fearful of the future. This means that councillors themselves need to be more available to taxpayers: to explain policy and be proactive.
Some councillors (Ritchie and Marshall) are excellent at being available, however others such as MaryWeale, seem quite detached and disinterested.
My professional perception of these expensive research programmes, commissioned by the council, is that they are a waste of time and effort, with the results manipulated to validate the views of the Leader and the Cabinet.
A final couple of points - we need to have a total review of all capital spending projects in the borough and reallocate resources to areas of greatest need.
Finally, let the council set an example and rid itself of the Bentley.
Even in the good times such a vehicle sent out the wrong message: today running such a car is just plain bizarre!
Justin Downes
Hans Place Knightsbridge
