Half a million pounds of taxpayers’ money spent on relocating his office to within police headquarters less than a mile away has been called ‘value for money’ by the spokesperson of the Crime Commissioner for Devon and Cornwall. But is this the same commissioner who spends £100,000 a year to lease office space somewhere else to maintain ‘independence’ for his role?
"The cost of the move will be in the region of £500,000, which will be repaid in 4-5 years," says the Chief Executive of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner. "We have thought hard about this and believe we can achieve value for money while still maintaining our independence from the force."
A local councillor is less than impressed with the expenditure. ‘I was astonished to hear that he wants to move because he was making a great deal of the need to be independent of the constabulary,’ she says.
Indeed, in 2013, the Crime Commissioner, Tony Hogg, justified his use of the publicly funded accommodation allowance, saying, "My role is all about holding the chief constable and the police force to account on the public's behalf, and therefore it is not appropriate for my office, or my accommodation, to be sited there."
Well, he’s changed his mind about that now, and it’s costing the taxpayer half a million pounds to move him!