Suffolk Tories challenge county council leader over £15k+ private office refit

Why it matters: The spending was approved by an officer over Microsoft Teams, with no committee report, published decision record or member-level vote, according to documents released under the Freedom of Information Act.

The details: The project, which converts an existing meeting room into an office for the Reform UK leader, is costed at £18,484.31 excluding VAT. That figure does not include video-conferencing equipment, which was still being priced separately.

More than 83% of the total – £15,417.15 – is itemised against the Leader's office:

• £12,816.19 on power, data and access control works, including a card reader, a push-to-exit system and a desk-side door release button
• £1,232.13 for frosted glazing to the office's glass partition
• £844.83 for IT equipment
• £424 for a specialist desk chair
• £100 for decals

Separately, the Cabinet Members' room received new monitors, keyboards and mice, and a £300 lock was fitted to separate the Cabinet office from the rest of the floor. The Leader's chair was the only new chair purchased during the project.

The paper trail: Emails and Teams messages show the request originated with Hadwen and was passed to officers by Joint Chief Executive Andrew Cook. On Friday, 29 May, Cook told Assistant Director Matthew West that Hadwen wanted to use the "Catchpole" room as his office and the "Reform Group" room as an informal Cabinet meeting space, adding that Hadwen "has already chased" the office moves and "will be expecting some solutions sooner rather than later".

Officers met Hadwen on site on Friday, 5 June, to discuss the specification. By Wednesday, 10 June, West told Cook over Teams that the changes would cost "approx. 18K", asking whether a budget existed or whether the cost should be "absorbed" within Corporate Services. Cook approved proceeding on Thursday, 11 June, replying: "Happy that we proceed. Assume at present it's to be absorbed within CS but we can always discuss later in the year if that presents a problem." Hadwen emailed West the following day, Friday, 12 June: "Looks great. Please can we get this underway as soon as possible."

The IT ticket authorising the works specifies two exit buttons for the Leader's new office – one by the door and one allowing Hadwen to release the door from his desk – with access restricted to Hadwen and one other person, still to be confirmed.

What they're saying: Cllr Richard Rout, Leader of the Conservative Group, said: "Reform came in promising to save money but one of their first acts looks to be splashing out around £15,000 on a new office for their leader, including thousands of pounds on kit and wiring for a special button so he doesn't have to get up from his desk to open his door.

"Endeavour House already provides office accommodation and workspace for councillors to carry out their duties. Taxpayers will rightly question why thousands of pounds are being spent on changes that appear to have more to do with personal aggrandisement than the delivery of frontline services."

Cllr Matthew Hicks, the previous Leader of Suffolk County Council, said: "The previous office served me perfectly well for eight years, and a similar room has been perfectly adequate for leaders over the last twenty years. Why does Cllr Hadwen think he needs a £15,000-plus leader's suite? The fact that public money is being spent so he doesn't have to get up and open his own door, like everyone else in that building does, beggars' belief."

The other side: In May, shortly after being elected as the council's new leader, he instructed officers to look at options to refurbish the office space. At the time, he told the BBC's Local Democracy Reporter Service that the changes would serve as a "mentality change" and ensure more of his Cabinet members worked on-site.

Correspondence shows officers repeatedly sought savings during the project. They agreed to reuse existing furniture where possible, "pinch" chairs and sofas from another meeting room rather than buy new ones, and swap a large screen intended for Hadwen's office for a smaller one – freeing up the larger screen for use in the Conservative Group's own room.

Hadwen was approached for comment.

What's next: The Conservative Group is calling on the Reform administration to publish the final cost of the project, including all IT and video-conferencing equipment, identify the budget it is being funded from, explain the authority under which it was approved without a member-level decision, and demonstrate how it represents value for money for Suffolk taxpayers.

The bottom line: An £18,484 office revamp for Suffolk's new council leader has become a political flashpoint, with the Conservative opposition calling it self-indulgent and Hadwen framing the changes as a practical shift in how his administration operates.

Don't forget: If you enjoy our content, please add Ipswich.co.uk as a "preferred source" on Google so you can easily find more of the content you value.

This article cost us ~£54 to produce

It's free for you to read thanks to the generous support of our partners. Please support us by supporting them.