London office top job now up for grabs
(CNS): Following the departure of Lord Blencathra and his consultancy firm from the London office, as a result of changes in the House of Lords rules and regulations, the premier has said that the job is now being advertised. Speaking in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday Alden McLaughlin told his parliamentary colleagues that government “will diligently strive to hire the best person for the job” and to get the best level of service from the London Office. He said the UK office served an ever increasingly critical role supporting Cayman’s relationship with the United Kingdom, other Overseas Territories and key international organizations.
Although it had become increasingly apparent that the Conservative peer originally hired by McKeeva Bush in 2011 could no longer represent Cayman in the wake of concerns raised by the Lords Commissioner for Standards Paul Kernaghan and the recent changes to regulations, McLaughlin said that Blencathra maintains his efforts on behalf of the Cayman Islands Government did not breach the code of conduct.
The premier said that Blencathra had played an important role as a consultant to the Cayman Islands Government providing advice and guidance on a vast range of UK and EU matters and the government would need to fillt he void he has now left.
“I it is critical that government continues to have the benefit of proper advice on these matters in order to protect and promote the interests of the Cayman Islands.,” he said. “We are considering our options. The advice and guidance Lord Blencathra has given to Government over the years has been invaluable.”
Category: Local News
Cayman government needs to do away with that post.
The UK does what it likes anyways!
And – use the money saved to repay the suffering Civil Servants, the majority of whom are still at the retrograde 2003 salary – while the cost of living escalates with each budget!!
I nominate Mr. Alden McLaughlin to take up this post in the UK. After his impressive performance on HardTalk, who would be better to lobby the UK on Cayman's behalf?
Moses and the others should be able to run the country quite well in the meantime.
Are we going to have a value for money audit of this post before it's re-advertised?
Seems to me nobody really knows what Blencathra did or what his services were actually worth so maybe it might be a good idea to find out before pouring any more money down the drain?
The post is now being advertised as paying CI$96,372-117,420 per year. I assume standard insurance and pension are included as benefits, but it is unclear whether there will be any other allowances as part of the remuneration package (as rent in London is much higher than Cayman I would be surprised if the post holder will also get a housing allowance).
That is about half of what Lord Blencathra (/his firm) was getting, which was just under CI$200,000 per year at current exchange rates plus expenses (AND CIG was also paying 20% VAT on those services).
It is also less than Thomas Russell and Jennifer Dilbert (and others who acted in that post) were paid when the position was graded at the same level as a Chief Officer (CI$123,348-143,064 at current levels).
So, to be fair, it does look like they took the opportunity to evaluate what the post is "worth" before advertising.
*wouldn't be surprised
I would like to apply and believe I am highly qualified to do the job. I have a posh accent, strange clothes, and a really weird idea of what lobbying is. I shall sit in hotel lobbies all day drinking at Caymans expense and telling anyone who listens what a great place Cayman is.
It is true that I am perhaps a little over qualified, however I am still prepared to apply for the sake of Cayman. When do I start?
It is about the ability to influence and interact with the uk and international govt. The position does require more than you jest about. Poking at his quirks for the sake of a laugh is not productive when the Cayman Islands needs someone who can 'be one of them' and help us with the true concern of us at heart.
Tea parties in Cayman just don’t have the same caché!!
Let's see which cronie gets the job.
Get rid of it.
Do we really need someone in this position?We have spent thousands of $ up to now so why waste any more?