Cuts ahead

Published: 6 May, 2010

• CAMDEN head of libraries, Mike Clarke claims that he is addressing “factual inaccuracies” of claims of excessive redundancy pay-outs of public money when he does not actually supply the correct figures on the grounds that “withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosing it.”
Bringing omission instead of public accountability they “cannot release such personal information” (Letters, April 22).
The euphemism is taken from the Data Protection Act 1998, Section 40(2).
However, Mr Clarke is in a position to reveal whether his own personal salary contract includes performance target bonuses and what precisely these bonuses are set for.
The we Mr Clarke alludes to include his departmental superiors, Again, what is the nature and scale of their bonuses according to their performance targets?
How and where are these targets set?
There is the question of the award of a consultancy contract of £47,000 for 20 days work and then bringing in “external training providers” at a cost of £17,625 for 18 days of instruction.
With the general election out of the way, nobody is going to be able to hide away from the drastic cuts in public spending which are coming.
PETER BAVER
Cleveland Street,
Fitzrovia, W1