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Inequality at the Equalities Office as Harman's staff get paid £12,000 more
Nicholas Cecil5 Dec 2008
Harriet Harman came under fire today after it emerged that her department spent £3 out of £4 on administration in its first six months.
The women and equalities minister also faced criticism after admitting that, on average, her staff were paid £12,000 more than other government workers.
The all-party Commons communities committee uncovered the details as part of its investigation into the Government Equalities Office.
The mini-department was set up in October last year to push the equality agenda across Government, shortly after Ms Harman was elected Labour's deputy leader. Its creation has echoes of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister established for her predecessor John Prescott.
Flagship legislation at Ms Harman's department was the Equality Bill, which has been attacked as it allows firms to discriminate in favour of women and ethnic minority job candidates if they are equally qualified as men or white people. The committee found that GEO documents showed its administration bill was £5.2 million, including salaries of around £3 million and rent, compared with £1.8 million spent directly on programmes.
Officials also admitted that the 62 employees of the GEO were paid on average £46,000 a year, compared with £34,000 for workers at the Department for Communities and Local Government. "In the current economic climate it is outrageous that Labour is spending three times as much on administration in the Government Equalities Office than on the direct programme spend," said shadow women's minister Theresa May.
Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "It seems extraordinary that the Government Equalities Office gets away with having such high overheads and paying its staff such high salaries. There's not much equality with the common man in paying paper-pushers twice the average wage."
The committee also revealed that the Government is failing to meet its targets to get more women into senior posts in the civil service.
But the GEO defended its costs, stressing that it allocated nearly £71 million to its "operating arms" - the Equality and Human Rights Commission and the Women's National Commission - so its staff salary bills represented just six per cent of the total costs.
It added that its departmental operating costs for the 2008/09 financial year was forecast to be £6 million on programmes, £5 million on wages and £3 million on rent, outsourcing and other costs.
GEO director general Jonathan Rees told the committee: "As a small stand-alone department supporting four ministers, we have press office and communications needs more akin to a larger department."
● Ministers have admitted that at least £10,000 of taxpayer's money was spent on drawing up a new code of conduct for owners of dogs, cats and horses.
Reader views (19)
Beyond belief.
- Ed Wills, Paris, 11/12/2008 22:04
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- Emily, London
There's nothing like a bit of good old fashioned bias to cloud your comments.
- Frank, Home Counties, England, 08/12/2008 09:41
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Emily no I actually know quite a bit and know that most unions are run by people who in no way practice what they preach. ASLEF/Fire Brigade Union ring any bells with you?
Take your Polly Toynbee inspired dreams and burst them. Most people involed with these causes are interested in personal power not equality and see the movement as another means of getting it.
I abhor anyone who says we must employ someone because they are from an ethnic minority, disabled, or female I employ the person because they are the best person for the job and in my case my case the fact that those people are from different backgrounds might make the Sisterhood that is HR happy but it matters not one jot to me.
If the best people for the job were 6 white males they would have the jobs if they were six black females they would have the jobs.
Can you say the same?
- Duncan Bailey, Kent, 05/12/2008 17:47
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So who is the minister for men then?
- Raymond, London, 05/12/2008 17:24
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Frank: grow up
Duncan: i take it you know very little of the union and equality movements
Richard: but surely that would be unequal?
I don't nromally bother to comment, but honestly - you three are the end.
- Emily, London, 05/12/2008 15:54
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One of the most divisive paople on the planet I beleive she enjoys creating agrevation.
- Reality, Edinburgh Scotland, 05/12/2008 15:37
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This is just farcical. On top of the operating costs of £14m for 08/09 this quango seems to be responsible for "allocating" £71million to its "operating arms" - great phrase , with all it's implications of action and organisation. Sorry for all the inverted commas by the way, but I think we know that these are just jargon words that non-productive hangers-on use to cover their tracks. What on earth is a Women's National Commission anyway? Men manage without one.
Overall it looks like the easiest £85million per year saving an incoming Government could find, and then there's Mrs Dromey's ministerial salary and expenses to chop as well.
- David H, Aylesbury, England, 05/12/2008 14:43
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One screwed up woman.
- Tom, London, 05/12/2008 14:43
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Women of Harman's age tend to get a bit funny, it's the hormones don't you know!
- Frank, Home Counties, England, 05/12/2008 13:24
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She does more dis service to the cause of equal rights than any other I know. Typical of her old style 70's Union thinking. But there look who she married the chief exponent of old style 70's Scargillite Unionism.
Another silver spoon socialist who has not a jot of an idea what they should be doing and too interested in philosophical debates that have all the relevance of a conference on fish need a bicycle like women need men. I'm sure she would signup for that one immediately.
I'm sure Germaine Greer loves you Harriet but to the rest of us you both out of touch champagne socialists who have never done a hard days work in the last 30 years.
The fact Gordon wouldn't make you deputy prime minister or any position of significant power in the government is a damning verdict on you.
The sooner you resign from politics the better.
- Duncan Bailey, Kent, 05/12/2008 13:22
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I suppose her staff are all female?
- Richard, London, 05/12/2008 13:16
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This woman is not fit for politics, nevermind office!!
- William, Hampshire, 05/12/2008 12:31
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The Minister for Left Wing Bigotry pays her minions well.
- Danny, London, 05/12/2008 12:14
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Another huge waste of money and another burden and pointless red tape for all employers.
- Jeremy E, London, 05/12/2008 12:05
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Equality?
As a white able bodied male it seems that everybody else stands a better chance than I do
that's not equality, that's promoting the rights of certain people over the rights of other people.
Isn't that discrimination?
Ah, in Newspeak it isn't apparently
- Ged, London, 05/12/2008 11:59
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Predictable wasn't it, this woman or this government don't really want true equality.
- P I Staker, London, 05/12/2008 11:26
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Even after all these years I am still astonished by the non jobs created by Nulabour that just waste more and more taxpayers money while the old and poor freeze in their hovels. Pathetic.
- Roger, Surrey., 05/12/2008 11:21
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Why that woman is still "minister" I really do not believe.
- Jacqueline, Hampstead, London, 05/12/2008 10:52
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£14 million a year to listen to the woman's claptrap - a waste of taxpayers money beyond belief. Nice little earner for her and her staff, though
- Robin, Brentford, UK, 05/12/2008 10:39
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