council leaders told tohire social work guru

City set to splash out £100,000 on Mr Fixit

By Cameron Brooks

Published:

Crisis-hit Aberdeen City Council is poised to spend a staggering £100,000 to hire a troubleshooter for six months.

The Mr Fixit will be expected to take “emergency control” of social work and health and care services.

Scottish Government ministers have ordered the local authority, which is making £27million of budget cuts this financial year, to recruit Philip Cotterill.

He will have line-manager responsibility for the services, and work a four-day week.

Councillors are discussing the Yorkshire-based consultant’s appointment at an urgent business committee meeting today.

Opposition Labour councillors, who have vowed to help turn the council’s precarious financial position around, said the move was necessary.

But they argued that the public will be rightly “shocked, dismayed and furious” by the amount of money that is being spent to secure Mr Cotterill’s services.

The authority, which overspent its budget by £50million in five years, is proposing to spend £1,000 a day to fly Mr Cotterill from Birmingham to work in Aberdeen for three days a week.

It will cost the authority £800 to have the member of the National Executive Council of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services from Holmfirth work from home for a day.

As part of the £100,000 package, which will be drawn from the contingency fund, the council will cover Mr Cotterill’s travel costs, a return flight per week and his accommodation.

Labour housing spokes-man Barney Crockett said: “This is a measure of the state the city is in and the administration is over a barrel, which is a disaster.

“It is a desperate position and I suspect they are under very strong pressure from ministers in the wake of the damning social work report.

“We cautiously welcome the proposed appointment of an experienced professional to take emergency control of the whole of the city's social work and care provision.

“The survival of our city depends on this decision and some others yet to come.”

Officials have told elected members that the fee is a “competitive rate” for a professional of his expertise.

They say that Mr Cotterill, who ran Kirklees Council’s award-winning social services department for 12 years, and was made a OBE for his contribution to the industry, has a proven track record in assisting organisations in the council’s position.

A source said: “This chap is the best of the best and if he is appointed we will be getting our money’s worth.”

A report to the urgent business committee says: “The instruction from Social Work Inspection Agency (SWIA) and the ministers is that Mr Cotterill will have line-management responsibility for all health and care services.”

Details of how his role will operate will be developed during his first two weeks in post, then a proposal will be brought before the leadership board and if required, the urgent business committee, for approval.

Council leader Kate Dean, deputy SNP group leader Mark McDonald and three top officials were summoned to a meeting at Holyrood on June 18 to discuss how the authority is running social work services.

They met with Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill, Public Health Minister Shona Robison and Minister for Children and Young People Adam Ingram.

Mr Cotterill’s appointment was discussed at the meeting.

Senior Labour councillor Gordon Graham said: “The administration should forget about interim appointments and appoint a social work and housing director, not a consultant and saving the council-tax payers’ money.”

Mrs Dean declined to make any comment.