Why is Ettington Council so much more efficient?

Resident writes "JPC should be able to save £25,000 pa"

I have just seen an advert for Ettington and Fulready Parish Council who require a new Parish Clerk.

I was amazed and surprised to see that the post will require the Clerk to work 25-30 hours per MONTH and to work from home. My understanding of Henley’s situation is that our Parish Clerk works more than 30 hours per WEEK, plus we pay for a dedicated Parish Council office at a cost of around £7,000 pa.

So my question is this – whilst I appreciate that Ettington is smaller than Henley, how can it be that we need a Clerk to work more than 120 hours per month, plus the associated office costs whilst Ettington can manage their affairs on A QUARTER of these working hours each month (and no associated office costs of course)?

If our Clerk is really being kept this busy (and I have no reason to believe that she isn’t), then surely our JPC should be talking to Ettington Parish Council to see how they can handle their affairs much more efficiently, and with a correspondingly smaller workload, than we seem to be able to do.

Looking at the Local Council pay scales (as referenced in the advert), I would estimate that Henley’s total costs of employing a Parish Clerk (and the associated office accommodation) would be around £25,000 more than Ettington’s combined costs (including office accommodation). I’m sure a quick call from our JPC to Ettington Parish Council would provide a more accurate figure than this guesstimate.

In these times of austerity, and with the impending rise in the precept, I think it is imperative that the JPC should be investigating all areas of its activities and expenditure to see where it could save money.

Yours sincerely,

Henley Resident - Name and address supplied and withheld