By
Jack Doyle, Home Affairs Correspondent
17:29 EST, 25 March 2012
|
19:54 EST, 25 March 2012
Former Essex Police Chief Constable David Stevens was paid £194,517 over several years as an ACPO consultant
An influential policing body paid retired senior officers up to £1,100 a day to act as consultants.
Bosses at the Association of Chief Police Officers signed contracts worth hundreds of thousands of pounds with companies run by their former colleagues.
The payments, revealed after Freedom of Information requests, showed that former Cumbria assistant chief constable Graham Sunderland agreed to act as a consultant to ACPO just a month after leaving the force in February 2009.
He was given two year-long contracts
in 2009 and 2010, each worth £60,000 for at least 120 days’ work drawing
up a strategy for identifying disaster victims at major incidents.
In
total he was paid £182,223 through his company, Epic (GS), including
expenses and extra days. Former Essex chief constable David Stevens, who
retired in June 2005, became an ACPO consultant the following month.
Over several years, his firm Devana Services was paid £194,517, initially at a rate of £900 a day and then at £1,100 a day.
Former detective superintendent Brian Shelby was paid £205,982 through his firm Pyrope Solutions.
ACPO
agreed four six-monthly contracts between September 2008 and October
2010 to work on the e-borders programme which tracks migrants arriving
in the country.
Payments: Bosses at the Association of Chief Police Officers signed contracts worth hundreds of thousands of pounds with companies run by their former colleagues
The FOI requests, made by the Yorkshire Post, revealed more than £800,000 was paid in total to ten consultants.
Jonathan Isaby, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘Very serious questions need to be asked about how former police chiefs seemingly went through a revolving door that saw them retire, only then to be paid exorbitant amounts of money.
‘The employment of highly paid external consultants in any taxpayer-funded body needs close scrutiny in order to ensure taxpayer value for money, and ACPO is no exception.
‘These revelations only go to underline the need for even more transparency when it comes to scrutinising who is spending our hard-earned cash.’
Acpo has provoked controversy in the past because it is run as a private company despite fulfilling many public functions and representing the interests of policing’s most senior officers.
Probe: Jonathan Isaby, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance believes the payments need to be carefully scrutinised
Tory MP Julian Smith said: ‘This story yet again raises very serious questions about the status of ACPO as a private company when it relies on so much taxpayer cash.
‘It is surely the moment to call time on the set-up and put in place a new structure that allows the spotlight to be shone on everything it does.
‘Whether through appearance or reality, this makes ACPO look more like a gold-plated jobs for the boys club rather than the above reproach leadership organisation for our country’s police forces that it has to be.
‘Further questions that need answering include the basis for paying these huge amounts of money, who authorised them and what process of procurement was used.’
An ACPO spokesman said: ‘As in other organisations, temporary staff with specialist knowledge and skills can help the police service meet resourcing gaps, such as in preparation for the London Olympics.
‘Temporary appointments such as these are the exception and have sharply reduced in line with financial pressures. ACPO will also review procedures for use of temporary staff to ensure they are up to date.’
A Home Office spokesman said: ‘Like all organisations reliant on public money, the Association of Chief Police Officers has a responsibility to spend appropriately.
‘As part of the work to create a new police professional body, we are engaged in discussions with ACPO about their future role and funding.’
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‘Ello ‘ Ello . ( i’m ‘ere tonite wearing my ‘other ‘at )
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I would hazzard a guess that they are all members of a certain mutual back-scratching ” secret society “.
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Jobs for the boys…
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If you need ‘consultants’ to advise you on how to do your job, then perhaps the consultant should replace you !
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Job for the boys
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Consultants on expensive contracts because those that employ them are not capable of doing the jobs themselves. This applies throughout the Government and all public services and starts from the top down. Jobs for the boys – typical, pitiful and expensive.
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This isn’t really news as consultancies have been set up be ex employees of companies for a number of years. It is what happens when people realise that they can earn more on the ‘outside’ for their knowledge and experience.
Business has been doing it for years so why are the Police any different?
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