I have written to Hazel Blears, the Minister responsible for local government, to ask for an investigation into the true facts over the Council’s Single Status pay grading review.

I'm calling for an investigation after the council admitted that it had got its facts wrong about how many people would be affected by pay cuts. In a letter to me, the council’s Chief Executive, Stephen Hughes, admitted that at least 4,500 people are going to lose money from their pay packets. However the Chief Executive goes on to suggest that about 14% of the council’s workforce will be worse off because of the restructuring. This actually suggests rather more than 4,500.

I don’t think we can carry on with this level of confusion, the threat of strike action and the threat that services might be cut as a result of the review. I am asking the Secretary of State to intervene to determine the true nature of the facts and see if some sanity can be brought to bear on the situation.

It is completely unacceptable for the council to continue to mask the true facts when it is peoples’ wages we are talking about.