LT not living like kings, say auditors
Page 21
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
MANY of Leslie Chapman's co port's inefficiency are based on to an auditors' report.
LT commissioned Messrs Deloitte, Haskins and Sells to investigate in detail the complaints which were raised by part-time board member Mr Chapman in letters to LT and the Greater London Council.
The auditors feel that Mr Chapman's complaints about expenditure on cars, chauffeurs, unnecessarily large offices, and catering for top management are too strong. It has compared facilities with those in other nationalised and private sector organisations, and says that LT's record is not disgraceful.
They say that Mr Chapman's statement on bureaucratic growth is based on his own judgment and discussions with staff, and not on direct evidence.
Mr Chapman complained that most LT managers are of moderate competence and are complacent, as they failed to act when shown scope for cost-savings.
Their report adds that some "personal recrimination" will be made against staff who have stifled criticism in recent months.
But they say that Mr Chapman's claim that LT is in breach of its statutory duty to act economically can be made only when a more thorough investigation has been conducted.
On Mr Chapman's claim that £25m to £50m could be cut from LT's expenditure without affecting service to the public, the auditors say that this would need a cut of between 3000 and 6000 employees.
But they add that Mr Chapman's calculations omitted areas in which LT says it can economise, such as stream:lining ticketing and introducing more one-man operation.
LT claims also that its mplaints about London Transsubjective judgment, according much-heralded XRM bus, the supposed panacea to its bus engineering ills, will net significant savings.
LT chairman Ralph Bennett has already dismissed many of the Chapman allegations and says that the scope for savings is much less than claimed. Mr Chapman's suggestion that the numbers of white collar staff can be halved is "unsupportable," he says.
GLC leader Sir Horace Cutler said that the auditors' report differs from the Chapman allegations only in terms of "quantities and degrees." GLC will have to ensure that LT faces up to its responsibilities.