CAMERON CONDEMNS FAT CAT SETTLEMENTS

RIVERSIDE`S

`£7-A-TENANT

CHARGE TO

FUND PAY-OFFS`

Soaring rents and  hidden extras are not the only new  financial burdens for tenants of Riverside Housing Association in Carlisle.

What about another Riverside “extra”- the money involved in fat cat pay awards for bosses? Are tenants involved in paying for these?

Malcolm Craik....one time Riverside
company director

A man once closely involved with Riverside finances has been looking into this and  in the current issue of  the Carlisle newspaper, the Cumberland News, he writes about what he has found.

Malcolm Craik of Brampton says that every Riverside property in Carlisle has contributed more than £7 to one of these recent fat cat awards. And he finds that Riverside is not the only housing association involved in fat cat awards: a similar pay-off in the London area  was severely criticised by the Prime Minister,

Mr Craik  is a former director of a Riverside company,Carlisle Housing Association He has this to say in a letter to the Editor of the Cumberland News:

David Jepson...£393,000
redundancy package

When John Barker wrote about Botcherby and the plight of its residents I wonder if he was aware that as well as the major rent rises imposed by Riverside Carlisle Housing Association there are many hidden housing costs associated with the  transfer of council houses that rarely get a mention.

For example I feel sure that the hard pressed residents of Botcherby will be surprised to learn that every Riverside property in Carlisle contributed £7.33 to the recent £393,000 redundancy package paid to Riverside’s Deputy Chief Operating Officer, David Jepson who is now Chief Operating Officer at another housing association, the 13,000 home Regenda  housing group.

His payoff needs comparison with another redundancy payoff in the social housing sector that was raised at Prime Ministers Questions before Christmas.

Teresa Pierce MP (Lab Erith & Thamesmead) asked the Prime Minister to look into the £397,000 redundancy package that Gallions Housing Association of Sidcup(Kent) had paid to its Chief Operating Officer, Tony Cotter, who had taken another well paid position in the social housing sector.

Tony Cotter...£397,000
 redundancy package

 David Cameron was highly critical of such payments especially when the redundant officer was taking up another well paid post within the sector.

The question Riverside’s tenants and residents must now be asking is why they had to pay £7.33 in redundancy payments to a man they’d never heard of and especially to one who was taking up a well-paid post elsewhere in the sector.  No doubt the honourable member for Carlisle will be following the example of Teresa Pierce MP and will raise this case with the  Prime Minister.

The magazine, Inside Housing reported in November that Gallions’ Board may have contravened charities regulations by paying Cotter more than was legally necessary and that its board members might have to repay some monies from their own pockets.

The residents of Carlisle need assurance that the payment made by Riverside complied with regulations 

and that if it didn’t, then the residents in Carlislewill get their £7.33 back.

Community Voice Carlisle is the blog of Carlisle Tenants` and Residents` Federation. Information about the Federation is available on the first post of this blog, dated March 25 2013