Conservatives have reacted angrily to hearing that the Council are paying members of the public £25 to attend discussion forums throughout North Kirklees to discuss integration and community cohesion issues in the area. The information came to light when Cllr Vivien Lees discovered that one of eight such meetings will be held at Mirfield Cricket Club and, on making further enquiries, discovered that a private firm has been contracted to undertake the work that the Cabinet have approved at a total cost of £14,000. Cllr Lees described the £25 payment as a bribe and said it was a disgrace to be employing outside consultants when Council jobs are known to be under threat. Local Parliamentary Candidate Simon Reevell said that there were far more important issues to be discussed in Mirfield, such as the schools, where members of the public had not needed paying to come along and express their views at public meetings.

Councillor Vivien Lees said:

"I was appalled to hear that the Council are actually paying people to attend such meetings - this is nothing more than a bribe. There are eight such meetings, six of which are in North Kirklees, and payment to those attending will amount to £2,000. A total budget of £14,000 has been allocated for these forums and a private firm has been employed to oversee this project. Even allowing for room hire for these forums there will be a handsome profit for the company involved. It is money for old rope and a scandal to be using Council Taxpayers money in this way when there is a recession on and Council Employees are in fear of losing their jobs."

Conservative Parliamentary Candidate Simon Reevell added:

"Whilst I accept that integration and community cohesion is an important issue throughout Kirklees the statutory aspect of this survey stipulated by the Labour Government was undertaken in 2008, and this further research is entirely voluntarily and obviously a strategy of the Councils’ Labour Cabinet. It is inappropriate to be wasting public funds at this time, and big issues for local communities will ensure good attendance at public meetings - as has been the case over BSF in Mirfield. I am sure that many constituents in Dewsbury, where four of these meetings are being held, will be angry that people are being paid from Kirklees funds to attend public forums to give their views."

Note for Media:

• The statutory 2008 place survey was designed to provide information on people’s perceptions of their local area and local services.

• It provides information to help the council and partners improve the services they deliver for the public - as measured by the statutory Comprehensive Area Assessment.

• The place survey collects data for 18 national indicators from the new national indicator set. It is undertaken every two years, with the next survey due in September 2010.

• Recognising the complexity of people’s perceptions of place, Kirklees Council decided in August 2009 to undertake follow-up research - on specific key findings from the survey - between the statutory surveys.

• Community cohesion is a priority for Kirklees - and is part of our council’s ambition. Questions about ‘getting along together’ were statistically lower in North Kirklees than South Kirklees localities. Full information about the place survey is available on the Audit Commission website. A summary of local findings can be found on the council website.