Under-fire Walsall Council spent £1.8m on temporary directors in three years
Walsall Council spent nearly £2 million on interim directors in three years, it has been revealed.
The figures have emerged as the fallout begins from the appointment of the council's latest interim – Julie Alderson – on £1,000 a day.
Councillor Sean Coughlan, the leader of the council who opted to employ Ms Alderson as the director for change and governance, said paying interim directors £1,000 a day was 'nothing new for Walsall' and revealed that in 2012/13 the Conservative-run council paid two interim directors £1,000 per day and two people £1,000 a day again in 2013/14, totalling £793,313.
He also stated that when he briefly took over the council in August 2014, £1,025,880 was being spent on interims.
Councillor Coughlan said: "Paying interim directors £1,000 a day is nothing new for Walsall and common practice for the previous Conservative administration.
"In 2012/13 the Conservative-run council paid not one, but two interim directors £1,000 per day, in 2013/14 once again two people on £1,000 per day plus others, which totalled £793,313.
"When we took over in August 2014 we inherited a group of interim posts that cost £1,025,880 that year and budgeted for by the previous Conservative administration.
"During this period the Conservative administration forced by a Tory Government cut £80m from council services."
Councillor Coughlan also had some choice words for Councillor Mike Bird, the Conservative leader of Walsall council during these periods, as he accused him of making the appointment of Julie Alderson 'political'.
He said: "I think it is a misrepresentation when under the previous Conservative administration we have had interim directors in adult social care on two occasions getting paid much the same money and it has never been a political issue.
"I am really disappointed that having rerun the process to replace Mr Borealis (former director for change and governance) that Mike decided to make it a political issue." But Councillor Bird
said: "We had interims I will hold my hands up to that. But the difference is our posts were statutory and had to be filled by law. This post is not."
