By Paul Reoch

PERTH AND Kinross Council has defended its stance on appointing a former education chief despite revelations that it spent more than £100,000 on his post during his seven-month tenure.

Figures obtained by The Courier through the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) give a breakdown of a variety of costs—including £24,000 spent on advertising—during the term of Stuart Powell who was the council’s executive director of education and children’s services until March.

The local authority was recently embroiled in a political “tit for tat” following the departure of Mr Powell.

Margo Lennie, a former convener of education with Perth and Kinross Council, hit out at the administration and described the resignation of Mr Powell just seven months into his job as a “farce” and a “debacle.”

She also said that the council was known as “Perth and Chaos” by other local authorities.

However, this was countered by Jimmy Doig, ex-leader of the administration, who retorted that Mrs Lennie was “demob happy.”

The FOI inquiry found that Mr Powell’s salary was £96,375 and that his travelling allowances were £4000.

Mr Powell was the fourth executive director of education and children’s services to leave the post in six years. Through the FOI, The Courier also discovered that the cost of advertising for Mr Powell’s job was £24,000.

Added to this was £8942.92 for adverts in relation to new posts created by the executive director as part of his “vision” for his department.

The figures also show that £2326.45 was spent on installing a new window and providing a power supply to Mr Powell’s office. In addition, Mr Powell qualified for the council’s £4000 relocation allowance.

The FOI figures show that two consultants who were brought in to support Mr Powell cost the council £15,000 and that the interim executive director, David Montgomery, is receiving a wage of £9600 per month.

But Perth and Kinross Council last night defended the costs and said that all jobs at the council are advertised internally, locally and, where appropriate, nationally.

“This ensures that the recruitment process is fair, that we attract a wide pool of candidates and that we comply with accepted good practice,” a spokesman said.

“Like any other organisation the council has to pay commercial advertising rates for recruitment.

“All appointments at executive director level are made by a council appointments sub-committee…of cross-party representation. Salaries are set at national level in accordance with national guidelines and are a matter of public record.

“For posts where it applies, the council’s removal and relocation scheme policy allows for relocation expenses of up to £4000 and also their recovery.”

Bernadette Malone, chief executive of Perth and Kinross Council, added, “Our priority is the provision of quality education and children’s services for the children, young people and residents who use them.

“This council has acted correctly, decisively and in accordance with accepted good practice. Had we not done so, we are sure we would have been criticised.

“We are disappointed that, once again the focus is on the past. With the new interim director in place, our education and children’s services are working hard, moving forward and providing excellent services.”

The Courier also asked how much Mr Powell received on his departure but this information was deemed to breach the 1998 Data Protection Act.