Something’s happening at Bradford council. Usually when we trawl through the Guardian every Wednesday we find a job that shocks and leaves us shaking our heads wondering what fool came up with such an unbelievably pointless job. But it’s only ever one job from one council here and there. This week Bradford council splashes out for 14 jobs, the total salaries of the jobs on offer (without factoring in pensions and operating costs) amounting to over £1million, the highest being a ‘Strategic Director of Regeneration’ going for £120k a year.
But our non-job among the plethora of jobs offered at Bradford council is the following:
“Assistant Director Cultural Services
Up to £75,000
A highly motivated individual, you will have the vision and ambition to deliver and develop cultural services across the district of Bradford. Our Cultural Services will improve the quality of life for all our citizens, contribute to our place shaping programme and attract visitors and investment into the district.”
…and that’s just from the Guardian. The full job specification can be found here and the personnel specification can be found here. As you can see, aside from a four line advert in the Guardian, Bradford council lays out 10 pages of waffle about a non-job costing the taxpayer a ridiculous amount of money.
As this goes on, as our essential frontline services such as the police and health services fall short of the funds needed to keep us safe and healthy, councils still find hundreds of thousands of pounds to squander on ‘cultural’ services. This forms yet another sad example of the bizarre priorities in local government.