Council leader under fire for £18k office refurb

A council leader has been criticised for spending £18,500 on an office refurbishment.

Michael Hadwen, Reform UK leader of Suffolk County Council, had instructed officers to look at options to refurbish the office space at the authority's Endeavour House headquarters shortly after his election in May.

At the time, he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the changes would serve as a "mentality change" and ensure more of his cabinet members worked on-site.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted by a member of the public has revealed the estimated cost of the development was just under £18,500.

Matthew Hicks, the council's previous Tory leader, said the cost "beggars' belief".

Figures show the majority of the money will be spent on a new 24.9 sqm office for the leader, with a price tag of about £15,400.

According to FOI documents, most of the cost of the leader's new office is around access control, as well as power and data provision, including a card reader, push-to-exit system and a desk-side door release button.

A further breakdown showed £1,232 was to be spent on frosted glazing, £844.83 on IT equipment and £424 on a specialist desk chair.

The remaining money will be used to provide the rest of his team with the workspace improvements he set out to deliver back in May.

The council's FOI response said the cost of the works would be covered by its corporate services directorate, with equipment to be reused where possible.

A council spokesperson defended the move as an opportunity to provide cabinet members with suitable workspace and the leader with an area for "confidential meetings".

He said: "The administration has placed a strong emphasis on working together in the office, and these changes will help support that approach.

"The focus is on making the best use of the space so council leaders can work together effectively and get on with delivering for Suffolk residents."

But opposition councillors questioned whether the money could be better spent elsewhere.

Andrew Stringer, leader of the Green Party group, said: "[Spending] taxpayers' money to expand their offices is hard to justify when other services are facing cuts."

Martin Cook, leader of the Labour group, added: "Reform's priorities for Suffolk are becoming clearer by the day – £18,500 on the leader's office, including a button on his desk to save him the walk to the door [and] £500,000 or more on a court case."

The money referenced by Cook is an estimate of how much it will cost for the authority to challenge local government reform in the High Court - although the council has said it will be unlikely to exceed this amount.

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