Question to Brent Council Press Office on July 27th
I would appreciate answers to the questions below in response to concerns raised by residents on the Wembley Matters blog.
1. Can Brent Council confirm that
there has not been, and that there will not be, any financial payment by the
Council to Cara Davani in connection with her leaving the Council’s employment
as Director of HR and Administration, other than her normal salary payment up
to 30 June 2015? YES or NO.
2. Can Brent Council confirm that
it has not agreed, and will not agree, to pay any award of compensation,
damages or costs made against Cara Davani personally, as a separately named
respondent from Brent Council, in any Employment Tribunal or other legal
proceedings in which she and the Council are named parties? YES or NO.
Many thanks,Martin Francis
Answer from Brent Council Press
Office July 29th
Dear Martin,
The council cannot legally
disclose any details of arrangements relating to Ms. Davani’s departure.
12 comments:
Lol. Typical answer from Butt's little puppets. The thing about the previous Comms' staff was their integrity no wonder Butt got rid.
Some readers will have been following the saga of trying to get Brent to answer these two simple "yes" or "no" questions through an earlier blog and the comments on it at:
http://wembleymatters.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/open-letter-to-christine-gilbert-over.html
As well as writing to the councillor who had advised me that he had been told that I would be receiving a full response 'within the permitted timescale', I also wrote again on Monday (27 July) to Christine Gilbert to ask when I could expect that reply. In my email to the interim Chief Executive, I quoted from what I had written to the councillor:
'I think that the excuse over why the two questions have not yet been answered is a case of deliberate delaying tactics by Christine Gilbert.
Christine Gilbert knows the answers to the two "yes" or "no" questions - no "pay off" arrangements could have been made without her direct knowledge and agreement. There was no need to pass the matter on to an officer who is already under pressure over her own workload. This is prevarication which goes against the principle of openness, and does not reflect well on either the Council or its interim Chief Executive.'
I went on to say to Ms Gilbert:
'I hope that you will take into account the, frank but honest, comments I have made to Cllr. ... , and I look forward to receiving the answers to my two questions without further delay. Thank you.'
This morning a reply was sent to me by an Executive Assistant in the Chief Executive's Office, saying:
'I am writing in response to your various emails to the Chief Executive in relation to the departure of Ms Davani. These matters have been referred to the Chief Legal Officer for reply. You will receive a response on 3 August when she returns from leave.'
My reply to this, after I had seen it this afternoon, was as follows:
'Noted, thank you.
Can you tell me, please, whether Christine Gilbert is still at Brent Council as its interim Chief Executive, and if so, whether she is also away on leave?
If Ms Gilbert is still at Brent, and is not on leave, then there is no reason why she cannot answer straight away the two questions which I put to her on 9 July, and repeated in my open letter to her of 16 July. I look forward to hearing from you.'
I may have to wait until next Monday, 3 August, but I will let Wembley Matters readers know the answers to the two questions when I receive them. I hope that Ms Gilbert, or the Chief Legal Officer on her behalf, are not foolish enough to respond with the words:
'The council cannot legally disclose any details of arrangements relating to Ms. Davani’s departure.'
Philip Grant.
Must be a way around this problem such as the council accounts or a foi request specific to whether or not there was a pay off in x
Month.
Has anyone asked who won the staff award yet?
They publish all expenditure on the website but it will be absorbed into staffing costs or something similar
Well at least they are consistent
The Davani ship has gone and sailed the on the 15th day after she left! She or her partner would have negotiated a big fat payout and it would have been overseen by her trusted advisor Mildred Phillips. Knowing that it has happened is sickening enough...knowing how much....well I do not think I would be able to take it. It's unbelievable but am I really surprised!?..no not really...tragic!
Soicalist Republic of Brent. Under the leadership of Lutfur Rehman fan.
Did you mean 'stoical is the republic of Brent'? Maybe they have to be.
I certainly can't see anything socialist about this bunch of self-serving chiselling careerist con artists. Much more like Thatcher's spawn I'd say, whatever flag they think it's advantageous to sail under.
Mike Hine
I thought that changes to the audit regulations created new legal requirement for local authorities to provide detailed senior pay information in their annual public accounts and that Councils would be required to set out full details for senior posts covering salary, bonuses, pensions, perks and compensation pay-offs. More questions need to be asked why excuses are being made.
Yes, I agree, they seem to be nothing Butt self-shelving, selfish opportunists, who use jargon in their attempts to hoodwink the electorate.
In my comment of 29 July at 17:20 above I said: 'I hope that Ms Gilbert, or the Chief Legal Officer on her behalf, are not foolish enough ....'
Well, they were! Read their response of 3 August and my reply to it at:
http://wembleymatters.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/pay-off-fob-off-christine-gilberts.html
Philip Grant.
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