Questions over costs of running 'Super Council' department

Questions have been raised over the cost of running a department at Derry City and Strabane District Council after it emerged there was a waiting list of 400 people for the service it provides.

The comments came during a meeting of Derry City and Strabane District Council’s Health and Community Committee.

At the meeting, elected members were given an update on the work carried out by the home accident prevention service provided by council.

They were also asked to approve the continuation of Home Safety services provided by the two officers employed by Council.

However, the meeting was told Big Lottery Funding for the employment of two home safety officers had ceased as of September last year.

Therefore, councillors were asked to approve ‘£64,200 salary and related costs for two home safety officers’.

A report presented to the meeting also stated that there is a waiting list of approximately 400 households awaiting a home assessment visit within the council area.

Speaking at the meeting, the SDLP’s Shauna Cusack (pictured) said it was ‘a large salary’ for a ‘large waiting list’, and that the ‘numbers don’t add up’.

A council officer told the meeting a possible reason for the length of the waiting list was that one of the officers was on maternity leave and ‘it was a number of months before the post was filled’.

The officer added that the benefit of the service was that reduced the number of hospital admissions and encouraged independent living among over 65’s with hip fractures.

The officer added the cost of the service was a ‘drop in the ocean when you consider hospital costs’.

Cllr Cusack added a ‘number of people could be employed’ for the money councillors were being asked to approve.

She added ‘ratepayers and constituents’ may have ‘difficulties’ when looking at the figures in ‘black and white’.

Independent councillor Paul Gallagher said while the £64,200 ‘might not be the actual salary’, the cost of picking up the bill for the department should not be met by ratepayers, but by the Public Health Agency (PHA).

“We need to review this if is approved today,” Cllr Gallagher added.

Cllr Cusack then asked if the £64,200 represented the officers’ salaries and the related costs.

Seamus Donaghy, Head of Health and Community Wellbeing with council, said the figure was the salaries and related costs ‘lumped together’.

However, no further information was given on how much of the figure was made up of the officers’ salaries.