The council responsible for Grenfell Tower has been accused of wasting huge sums of money after it emerged it was trying to recruit more than two dozen communications staff to spread the message about its work in the aftermath of the fire.
Kensington and Chelsea council is advertising for as many 28 “communications and engagement professionals” on one-year contracts. With salaries ranging from £26,500 to £49,500, the move could cost as much as £1m.
The chair of the local residents’ association said the council was “throwing out money in a panic” rather than focusing on helping those affected by the fire in June, in which at least 80 people died.
Jacqui Haynes, who chairs the residents’ association for the Lancaster West estate, which includes Grenfell, said the plans showed the council had skewed priorities.
“My first thought is that it is a phenomenal waste of money when there are services and activities required to rebuild this community that should take priority,” she said. “As has been the way, the council are dedicating too much time on useless communications and throwing money out in a panic and not enough on action that will improve and progress the estate and the locality.”
News of the plan came in a job advert posted by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) seeking up to 30 full-time communications specialists on one-year contracts connected to the Grenfell response.
Some would focus on improving communications with survivors and other local people, and others would “offer strategic communications and engagement advice” for senior council staff and “support the wider cross-government narrative on the Grenfell response and recovery”.
A DCLG spokeswoman said just two of the recruits would work for the department, and that Kensington and Chelsea councilwould employ the rest.
The Conservative-run council, which has faced repeated calls in the wake of the blaze for its functions to be taken over by central government, insisted the new jobs were not PR roles, and would be aimed mainly at communicating better with locals.
It also said the figure of 28 was not a target, meaning fewer could be recruited, and that such a number would not all work simultaneously.
Haynes questioned why, if the ambition was to better engage better with the community, local people had not been notified about the jobs in case any suitably-skilled residents might want to apply.
Local people had no trust in the council, she said, which was seemingly why it wanted to improve its communications.
“If they had listened to the community in the first instance, they would not have seen the need for this and there is no need for this extravagance with money that is supposed to serve the people of Kensington and Chelsea.
“They also did not advise any of the representatives or groups here in order that these opportunities could be flagged up to local people who may be suitable to engage and communicate with their community effectively and have the skills and qualifications.”
Robert Thompson, a Labour councillor who chairs a committee that scrutinises the Grenfell recovery process, said he worried the leadership was thinking “more about giving the council line on what’s happening, than recruiting people who are going to do something”.
He said: “The problem is that there is such a lack of trust in the council in the local community, and a paranoia about what is happening. So they obviously do need to respond that to rebuild trust.
“But in the end, rebuilding trust isn’t just about a PR exercise. It’s about doing stuff.”
Jennifer Nadel, who stood for the Green party in Kensington in the June election and has worked as a volunteer supporting Grenfell survivors, said the recuitment drive “absolutely stinks”.
She said: “The government needs to admit that the council is not fit for purpose and putting it into special measures, not spend £1m of taxpayers’ money to make things look better than they are.”
A spokesman for the council said it was important to stress that none of the new roles were for press officers, and that were primarily focused on community engagement.
“The independent task force has made it very clear that the council needs to engage, consult, and communicate more with local communities and improve the quality of the information services we provide. We intend to follow that recommendation,” he said.
A DCLG spokeswoman said the two roles it was advertising for would be staff loaned from elsewhere in the civil service, who would work with ministers, officials and the council “to ensure that those affected by the disaster get the support they need”.
