TORIES CREATE CABINET MEMBER FOR PROPAGANDA (Jeremy Hilton)

TORIES CREATE CABINET MEMBER FOR PROPAGANDA

January 21, 2009 12:00 AM

At today's meeting of Full Council, the Conservative leader of Gloucestershire County Council announced the cabinet member for Education and Children's services would go part-time. A new post of cabinet member for communications is being created. This will now be the responsibility of the cabinet member who should be running the children's services & education department.

Cllr Jeremy Hilton, Liberal Democrat leader said: "This is a shocking decision. To suddenly create a cabinet member for propaganda at the taxpayers expense is an appalling waste of taxpayers money. Ditching full-time support for education and children's services in the county, in favour of a cabinet member who will be in charge of writing council press releases and fronting media interviews stinks. Liberal Democrats are opposed to the creation of a lead cabinet member for communications; we will scrap it if we gain power at the elections in June this year"

The changes to the council's cabinet are a result of a restructure proposed by the Conservative council leader . Liberal Democrat councillors challenged the decision but were outvoted when the vote was taken.

Cllr Charmian Sheppard, former cabinet member for Education, said: "The council's responsibility to children and schools in the county is enormous. Hundreds of schools rely on the education department to be well-managed and show clear leadership from the cabinet. The burden of work for the cabinet member in education cannot be treated as a part-time responsibility. Headteachers, parents, education officers and government officials need to know the focus of the cabinet member in charge is on the important business of children's services. Instead the cabinet member will be more interested in producing council propaganda."

ENDS