Row erupts over district hub cuts

The hub was established as a partnership between the county and six districts, with each district providing teams and facilities to deal with inquiries.

County officers now feel that the volume of county services delivered do not match those delivered for district purposes, despite the costs being shared.

They have also raised concerns about the consistency and quality of service delivered by some hub partners and intend to cut funding from April 1, 2009.

Nathan Desmond, Wyre Forest District Council cabinet member for community and leisure services, said he opposed the proposals.

“We provide more services and a better quality of service than any other district in Worcestershire,” he said.

“We are committed to maintaining that excellent service and, at this point, we do not see the merits of moving to a centralised system.”

A row has also broken out between former Conservative district councillor, Nigel Addison and Stephen Clee, cabinet member on both the district and county councils, over an alleged conflict of interest.

Mr Addison said: “I believe one of the roles of Mr Clee as planning, regeneration and prosperity cabinet member for the district council is to protect the livelihood of residents by creating and generating employment opportunities.

“However, in his role as corporate services portfolio holder at County Hall, he is calling for the jobs of several people in Wyre Forest, who work at the Worcestershire hub, to be moved to Worcester. He is a disgrace.”

Mr Clee refused to comment on the allegation and Mr Addison’s call for his resignation.

The Wyre Forest hub has 25 employees dealing with telephone, face-to-face and electronic queries. A total of 22 are employed in Kidderminster, two in Stourport and one in Bewdley.

The issue will be debated during this evening’s Wyre Forest District Council cabinet meeting, at 6pm at Duke House in Kidderminster.