HYNDBURN’S opposition Labour group has accused Tories of wasting nearly a quarter of a £1m Government payout on ‘bureaucracy’.
The borough has been allocated a share of a £22m Performance Reward Grant (PRG) for Lancashire, with the first instalment due before Christmas this year.
But Labour group leader and Accrington South County Councillor Graham Jones claims that a large chunk will be frittered on the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) "talking shop".
At Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting, members heard a proposal to spend £150,000 on financial and administrative support to the LSP, which in turn feeds recommendations to district councils.
It was also proposed that £75,000 be given to the Hyndburn Community Network over a five-year period, enabling the network to continue to represent the community sector ‘and contribute to the work of the LSP’.
A third proposal was to set up a Performance Reward Grant Commissioning Group ‘to identify LSP partner recommendations for future PRG spend’.
That group would have six non-voting advisors and four voting members, including three current borough councillors from the ruling Conservative group.
The report added: "Recommendations of the LSPs shall be communicated to the district councils and shall be ratified by that authority through its usual executive process."
Councillor Jones said: "I am pleased the Government is giving Hyndburn another £1m to invest.
"Unfortunately, our local Conservatives will just waste it.
"They have already allocated 15 per cent to be spent on the talking shop that is the LSP, plus a further £75,000 is to spent on bureaucratic positions in another organisation."
