NEWS
THE SENTINEL Saturday October 22, 2011 WORKING PARTS: Mechanical models and moving machines are grabbing the attention of visitors to a museum. Etruria Industrial Museum is hosting an exhibition called Amazing Automata letting people discover how machines work by experiencing gears, levers and cams in action. Items on display include snapping crocodiles, wriggling centipedes, roaring dragons and kissing rabbits. The exhibition runs until December 4. For more information, call the museum on 01782 233144. Mark Barnett, a volunteer at the museum, is seen looking at clockwork exhibit The Swimmer. Picture: Steve Bould
Review is ordered into redundant workers’ return
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AN INQUIRY is under way to discover how staff were able to return to work at Stoke-onTrent City Council after pocketing redundancy payments. The Sentinel revealed earlier this month how 25 workers shared £330,603 in compensation packages over six years before returning to work at the Civic Centre in new jobs. Councillor Paul Shotton, deputy leader and cabinet member for transformation, pictured below, ordered a review after being left “furious” at the revelations, which he said: “Appeared to be an offensive waste of public money.” Through the course of its investigations the council has discovered that five of the workers left last year when compromise agreements were in place which explicitly stated they were not able to return within a year and one day. The council said those responsible for the oversight have now left the authority. Mr Shotton said: “We have now looked into this and it is clear that we have made some mistakes. “Procedures were in place to ensure that staff who left under the compromise agreements did not come back, so we have got to put our hands up and say that five staff did slip through the net.” Investigative action at the council in light of the discovery will include: ■ An internal review of the circumstances behind the workers’ return, now being carried out by
Dawn Hewins, the council’s assistant director of human resources; ■ A full investigation by internal auditors under the agreement of chief executive John van de Laarschot; ■ The district auditor, who represents an independent Government body, will be asked to review the final report and findings of the internal audit; ■ Future compromise agreements will be tightened up as the council considers up to 500 more redundancies, and an additional paragraph currently being reviewed by lawyers will effectively state: “If you return within this timescale, these monies are recoverable from your salary.” The council estimates the five workers shared £63,000. One left compulsorily and was entitled by law to return after one month. Mr Shotton said £37,000 is “potentially recoverable”, but the council will not pursue them for a refund as the costs of individual legal action will exceed the total bill. The investigation is being carried out internally, under review by the district auditor, because the cost of handing the entire inquiry to the auditor would be up to £50,000. Mrs Hewins said: “The internal audit team will now go deeper, they will verify everything I have researched and put in the context. “In future responsibility will also be put on the workers because they do know they have signed an agreement.” Mr Shotton added: “Measures are in place and we are beefing them up to make sure it does not happen again.”
PR GE IC T E O
FAMILIES can enjoy some spooky fun next week when a narrowboat cruise company stages a series of Halloweenthemed trips. Flower Cruises will be running the short trips from Westport Lake every day between Monday and Sunday during the half-term holiday. Boat passengers will be transported along the Trent and Mersey Canal, and then through the Harecastle Tunnel, near Kidsgrove, before turning round and heading back to Westport Lake. The Halloween Special will cost £15 per adult and £12 per child. They will start at 11am each day. People can either just turn up, or book in advance by calling Kerry Vaughan on 07713 358291.
alex.campbell@thesentinel.co.uk
TRENTHAM LAKES: A major ceramics exhibition is to hear expert advice on going green from one of the UK’s most high-profile retailers. Andrew van Zwanenberg, technical manager for homeware at Marks & Spencer, is to address Ceramics 2011 at the Britannia Stadium on November 10. M&S’s much-talked about ‘Plan A’ aims to make it the world’s most sustainable retailer by 2015. Ceramics 2011 is being billed as the start of “a new era” for the industry. Expert speakers already lined up include John Vidal, environmental editor of the Guardian.
£2 Y 1/ ON 5 2 E
Climb aboard a spooky ship
BY ALEX CAMPBELL
FENTON: Indie band Sound Casino will help launch a music concert, aimed at showcasing up-and-coming talent, at Fenton Manor Sports Complex on Friday. The four piece, who have played at the O2 Academy in Manchester and the Caver n Club in Liverpool, will launch the first in a series of monthly live music events at the venue. The first event will take on a Halloween theme, and other supporting acts include local band Against the Welfare. The events have been put on thanks to a partnership between Venombase Studios and Fenton Manor. Tickets are available by calling 01782 234200 and doors open at 7pm for an 8pm start. For more details on future events, go to www.facebook.com/fmfridays.
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MEN are being invited to have a cut-throat shave ahead of a month-long charity drive. Staff at the Partners Barbershop, in Longton, are offering to prepare participants for next month’s Movember scheme – where men are asked to grow a moustache in aid of prostate and testicular cancer charities. Owner Dave Hall, aged 36, of Bucknall, said: “You need to be clean shaven ahead of the challenge. “We are entering a Partners Barbershop team and people are welcome to join that and be a part of the initiative. It’s a good way to raise money.” The shave costs £10 per person, with The Strand-based salon offering to donate that cash to the Movember project. The shaves will take place on October 31 from 5pm by appointment only. To book, call 01782 326003.
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Keep it clean for charity
Why were council staff allowed back?
In brief
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RAISING MONEY: Dave Hall.
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