Tory council's spin doctor on £182,000 a year (that's £40,000 more than the Prime Minister)

Published 08th Jun 2010

A spin doctor has been hired by a Conservative council on a deal that works out at £182,000 a year - or £40,000 more than the Prime Minister.

Suffolk County Council is employing Jill Rawlins as a head of communications on up to £700 a day, claiming one of her roles will be saving money.

But the appointment will be seen as a snub to David Cameron's demands to rein in public spending through 'painful' cuts.

Miss Rawlins, a former head of communications at the Countryside Agency, is due to begin work on Monday on a six-month contract.

Her role will involve developing 'a pro-active approach to communications, particularly in media management, including campaigns, media public relations, marketing, events, publications, branding and web'.

Tory Central Suffolk and North Ipswich MP Dan Poulter called the expenditure 'a public sector disease'. He added: 'A lot of councils and hospitals are employing spin doctors and their pay is completely disproportionate to those who work in front-line services.'

TaxPayers' Alliance chief executive Matthew Elliott said the appointment would leave Suffolk's taxpayers with 'an astronomical bill, all so the local authority can tell residents how great they are'. He added: 'An age of austerity is coming and the county council should make do with the communications staff they already have.'

The council's Lib Dem opposition leader, Kathy Pollard, said: 'What would the public rather have - four new firefighters or one head of communications? We all know what the answer would be.'

Miss Rawlins's pay grade will be between £400 and £700 a day, although insiders said it would be nearer the higher end because of her experience.

She has worked for drug and alcohol charity Addaction, the Alzheimer's Society, the Institute for Grocery Distribution and supermarket chain Somerfield.

She replaces communications director Caryl Jackson, who left on May 21 after being on sick leave since Christmas.

Suffolk County Council, which recently announced it needed to save £153million over ten years because of government cuts, already had one of the highest-paid chief executives in the country.

Andrea Hill earns £220,000 a year. Last month she said staff had failed to face up to the fact that jobs and services would have to be cut.

But she was later criticised after it emerged the council had hired a Teletubbies expert to speak at a motivational seminar for staff.

Engineer Rex Garrod, who designed much of the set of the children's TV series, was chosen to help promote an 'entrepreneurial spirit'.

A council spokesman said the new head of communications would be enforcing the recommendations of a recent marketing review. 'The review will deliver significant savings to the county,' he added.

Source: ' Daily Mail '

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