A little learning is a dangerous thing

Enjoying a bit of sport with Cornwall Council's transparency spreadsheet, trying to identify what beanos executive training courses we've been paying for. In November, for example, we forked out £9,356.91 to Caret Ltd. When I asked the council why, this was the response:

"The £9,500 paid to Caret Ltd relates to training and development provided to the panel of elected Members set up by the former Implementation Executive to carry out a formal appraisal into the performance of the Chief Executive of the Council. Appraisals are a mandatory part of the Council's performance management process, with all members of staff taking part in an annual review of their performance to ensure they are meeting the targets set for them and to identify their development needs. In the case of the Chief Executive the appraisal is carried out by a panel of Members. As this was the first performance appraisal carried out by Members of the new unitary council, it was agreed to enlist the services of an external organisation which specialises in this area of work. The work carried out by Caret Ltd included carrying out interviews with representatives of partner organisations outside the Council to gain an objective view of the leadership of the Chief Executive , as well as providing specialist training for members of the panel."

The spreadsheet tells us we also spent £1,500 at the University of Paisley and £848.30 for the White Duck Coaching Company.