Cardiff Council payment to consultants for P Gwyrdd/project incinerator

According to PGwyrdd's accounts for 2009/10, at http://www.caerphilly.gov.uk/prosiectgwyrdd/english/news.html,

the Project Manager (Tara King) had a salary in the range £70-75 000.

Is this high?  Nick Robinson's programme on BBC radio 4 reported that only 10% of public sector workers get over £50 000.  A salary of over £60 000 is exceptional in public service.  A nice earner for exceptional 'Rubbish' Tara!

Of course, she had to manage contracts for highly paid consultants, which totalled far over budget at almost £230 000 (below). She did this from the budget for "supplies and services" of £161 000, adjusted to £191 000, but was still £96 000 overspent. And a further £82 000 payments owing were deferred to the current year.  Evidently Tara was very successful as Project Manager.

The payments to consultants in the year were (with payments deferred to the current year shown in [...])

1. Parson Brinkerhoff – Technical Advisors = £86,488 [£56 847]
2. Pinsent Masons – Legal Advisors = £83,788 [£13 497]
3. Grant Thornton – Financial Advisors = £59,705   [£11 976] 
   Total Advisors = £229,981

Has any Cardiff Cllr anked why should Cdf increase contribution to P Gwyrdd

Has any Cllr anked why should Cdf increase contribution to P Gwyrdd 
(LAs increased by 50% below) when they didn't need it and made a surplus of £600k instead of budget of zero?

Prosiect Gwyrdd
Table 2a: Income & Expenditure Account (31st July to 31st March 2010)
Original Revised Actual Variance
Budget £ Budget £ £ 
Expenditure
374,564 Employees 292,229 197,449 (94,780)
27,500 Premises 27,500 7,683 (19,817)
7,491 Transport 6,941 2,460 (4,481)
161,267 Supplies & Services 191,056 287,323 96,267
0 Support Services 0 6,265 6,265
570,822 517,726 501,180 (16,546)
Income
(139,655) WAG Grant (106,827) (482,772) (375,945)
(431,167) LA Contributions (410,899) (626,963) (216,064)
(570,822) (517,726) (1,109,735) (592,009)
0 Total 0 (608,555) 608,555

Paul Connett Merythr Meeting

Merthyr next Thursday evening should be inspiring for anyone involved in the anti-incinerator campaign. It’s being organised by campaigners against Covanta's proposal, for a mega-incinerator.

Thge speaker Prof Paul Connett’s is famous for his experience and deep knowledge. See his profile here  I hope Councillors in P Gwyrdd authorities will attend. Jane Davidson should be there too to hear the facts. 

Public meeting with Professor Paul Connett on

The impact of incineration on health, 

the alternatives to incineration and zero waste

Thursday September 9^th, 7pm at the Orbit Centre, Merthyr Tydfil

The Orbit Centre is walkable from Merthyr train station

http://www.orbitbusinesscentre.co.uk/contact.aspx

Project greenwash propaganda campaign

PG's propaganda campaign!!

No problems of tight Council budgets and a bankrupt economy for these South Wales councils!
The procurement ignores criticisms of this £1100 million project.
What right have our Cllr to mortgage our communities for 25-30 years?
They are going for Private Finance over 25-30 yr, despite cross-party opposition in Wales to high cost, inflexible PFI!

P Gwyrdd claimed to meet Welsh Strategy targets, but there is no mention of the maximum residual waste per person of 150kg, which means 125 000 tonnes maximum compared with their guide figure of 160 000 tonnes
(35% of 460 000t).

They’ve told Councils to claim to the public that they aim to “recycle and compost as much waste as possible”.
Yet the 65% falls far short of that claim, being less than already achieved in Europe, eg. Flanders, and far below the 80-90% figures said possible by their consultants.

They say nothing about toxic residues from waste combustion and the requirement under the proximity principle to have an outlet in SE Wales (they bother to offer help over waste transfer stations but not over a disposal site).

They set no requirement on energy efficiency, despite Welsh strategy on 60% minimum.

PGwyrdd has made a mockery of Stakeholder participation, with only two from FoE but scarcely
anyone else as ‘public’ stakeholders at their 7th Sept. event. The rest are council officals etc!!

They claim they have not chosen technology, yet the prospectus advertised by P Gwyrdd has been rigged to attract large incinerator companies and fix a long-term commitment to incineration, instead of cheaper low-tech mechanical and biological treatment systems.

Friends of the Earth from experience in England warns us against long-term waste deals with private companies (Long waste contracts www.foe.co.uk/resource/briefings/long_contracts.pdf).