A top civil servant at City Hall is facing questions after revealing plans to work at Number 10 North, despite being paid by taxpayers in London.
In a leaked email seen by GB News, Mary Harpley, Chief Officer of the Greater London Authority (GLA), told staff at City Hall that she intends to “regularly” work from Manchester “from now on”.
It means taxpayers in London could be left to foot the bill for Ms Harpley’s £206,000 salary, while Mayor Khan’s top civil servant spends more than 200 miles working away in Manchester.
When approached by GB News to ask how many times a week Ms Harpley planned to spend working at Number 10 North, the GLA declined to say in its response.
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In response, Leader of the London Conservatives, Susan Hall, said: “Has Mary Harpley not heard of Zoom, the mobile telephone?
“It is frankly outrageous that the Chief Executive’s time – and no doubt public money – will be poured down the drain shipping her to and from Manchester.
“There’s no transparency, no value for money, and no indication of what benefit Londoners will see from this.
“It’s a joke – and a bad one at that.”
Mrs Hall fumed: “I think it’s a disgrace that they won’t even tell us how often the Chief Officer will be up there; does she not have enough work to be doing at London City Hall?”
The Chief Officer has responsibility for the effective delivery of Mayor Sadiq Khan’s key priorities in London, with the role being funded through council tax payments and government grants.
With the post holder there to be on hand to aid the London Assembly in its objective of scrutinising that Mayor and holding him accountable, something Ms Harpley’s critics will argue is difficult to do if she’s in Manchester.
While just one visit to Number 10 North per week would see the Chief Officer clock up 400 miles a week, up to 20,000 miles a year in travel again at taxpayers’ cost.
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Responding to the findings, William Yarwood, campaigns director at the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said: “Londoners will be livid that they are footing the bill for a highly paid City Hall pen pusher to spend her time working from Number 10 North.”
“Council taxpayers are paying for staff to serve London, not to moonlight in Manchester on the government’s latest vanity project.”
Mr Yarwood explained: “City Hall must explain why Londoners are subsidising this arrangement and put a stop to it.”
A spokesman for the Greater London Authority said: “The GLA firmly supports the Government’s devolution agenda – by empowering our cities, we can unlock growth, raise productivity and create well-paid, secure jobs that make a real difference in our communities.”
“Officials from City Hall are engaged in ongoing discussions with Government to ensure that any new mechanisms to decentralise England work for London, which is the engine of the national economy, driving growth across the country.”
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