Just for the record Alistair

So it is adieu to the Chief Executive Alistair Stewart (Head of Paid Services) of Shepway District Council, with a £184,000 redundancy package. He’s laughing all the way to the bank in Lincolnshire no doubt. But just for the record Alistair, lets take a itsy bitsy teenie weenie peek at your achievements.

You, yes you Alistair (pictured above) purchased the land at Otterpool Lane for £5.2 million. You were aware that Andy Jarrett wanted prices for residential land values, days before the tender was submitted. It was a lie SDC wanted it for a tenanted farm operation wasn’t it?  The decision to move forward on the project is on your shoulders. You also hid behind closed doors when discussing the purchase of the 357 acres at Otterpool Lane, didn’t you. But we spoilt the party and let the cat out the bag early. Whoops.

Then there’s Princes Parade on which SDC paid Edwards Harvey, the spin doctors, who set up a Facebook page in 2016/17, to create a narrative that a Leisure Centre and 150 homes on the land, was a great idea. Agreed an employee of Edwards Harvey, Dean Kilpatrick, former senior journalist at the Folkestone Herald helped the council spin its story. Is it not right to let people make up their own minds, rather than hire spin doctors, such as Dean, to weave a narrative so outrageously pro council? Now, of course you just had to obey your political masters, is that it?

Who could forget Alistair that under your leadership Temporary B&B costs have risen in five out of last six years since public records began in 2012. Let’s also not loose site of the fact that when compared year on year 16/17 – 17/18; temporary staff costs have risen by 91%. The financial year (17/18) isn’t even over yet. For this year, so far, costs stand at £1.1 million, a record Alistair, one which belongs to you. Are you proud of that achievement? And surely the buck stops with the Chief Executive, (Head of Paid Services) regarding these costs, doesn’t it? Might these soaring costs on your watch Alistair be because SDC didn’t build any Social Housing for 10 years? You really fought for the people on that point, a little to late in our personal opinion.

How could we forget those temporary staff costs which have risen when compared to last years figures by 36%, so far. And again we are not at financial year end yet.

And the logic to all this Alistair is:

• Savings do not require that efficiencies be recorded net of up-front investment costs i.e. if you spend money to save money, you count the money saved but not the money spent in the process. By this logic, scrapping posts and hiring in consultants counts as a total saving.”

  – Matthew Elliot and Lee Rotherham

And who could forget the percentage of Children living in poverty in the district has grown significantly on your watch Alistair. Not all your fault we agree, but some of it lies at your door surely?

Oh yes, there’s that Serious Data Breach where SDC released the names of 55 temporary staff who were supplied by eight agencies. They all had had their names and hourly or day rates revealed unnecessarily. What has the Information Commissioner’s Office said about this? Care to tell the people of Shepway before you move on with a £184,000?

So you say goodbye and we the Shepwayvox Team say hello! Where you off to Alistair, there’s a mess to clear up, see above. We could say more, but we won’t, well let the good people of Shepway draw their own conclusions.

The Shepwayvox Team

The Velvet Voices of Dissent