Lucy Nethsingha, Lib Dem group leader at Cambridgeshire County Council, has expressed shock at the revelation that the council paid more than £200,000 to a former BBC presenter for a PR contract for its fostering services.
It was recently revealed in Cambs Times and Royston Crow that Cambridgeshire County Council paid former BBC Radio Cambridgeshire presenter Paul Stainton £216,000 for PR services to help recruit foster carers, out of a total budget of £480,000 for "a step change in the marketing, recruitment and support for foster carers in Cambridgeshire".
Lucy said: "The amount of Cambridgeshire taxpayers’ money being handed out to PS Media (Paul Stainton) in fulfilling this project has shocked me. Our in-house foster carers are crucial to the care of some of the most vulnerable children in the county. But it would now appear that a significant portion of the money intended to go towards supporting foster carers has been spent on PS Media. I am afraid there are many questions to be asked about the way in which this project was carried out."