YESTERDAY, the staff from the Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation (DC) moved into the offices at Thurrock Council.
At the same time, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government revealed how much savings had been made by reducing and reforming the quango.
The minister announced that a total of £18,521,000 will be saved through the present scaling down and the eventual abolition of the DC in March 2012.
The Department for Communities and Local Government’s plan to increase accountability by reducing and reforming its quangos is on course to deliver around £170 million savings in total.
Let us think about this. The Government has saved £18,521,000.
Yet the staff are being transferred to Thurrock Council. So how much is employing these staff costing the local taxpayer?
Who owns the site where their current headquarters is? Who is picking up the tab for this empty site? Who gets the profit when the site is sold? The Government or the council?
The Royal Opera House site – who currently own this? The Development Corporation or the Council? How much does it cost to run as there are lots of grand modern buildings but hardly any other companies occupying the site so it must be costing a bit as its currently empty. Who will pick up the tab? The council or TTGDC?
Bigger question. The TTGDC has purchased large quantities of land across Thurrock. Who will now own this land. The Council or the Government and who will keep any money raised from the sale of this land. The Council or the Government?