Town hall staff in High Court action over expenses

A total of 106 town hall staff have issued a writ against Bury Council after claiming it was in breach of contract by withholding full payments for the last eight years.

Those employees for whom a car was deemed essential were entitled to a lump sum allowance and mileage, while those designated as "casual" car users were permitted to claim for mileage.

The level of payment was based on the size of the car that had been authorised by the council under a rising scale of four cubic capacity bands.

But since 1992 the council restricted the level of payment of car allowances to the bottom two capacity bands only, regardless of the size of the car.

This was allegedly done without the agreement of the 106 employees or their trade union, Unison, who objected strongly to the change. They said it was introduced by the council to make financial savings.

Now the council workers want not only the unpaid car allowances, but interest and damages as well.

One of claimants said: "This has gone of for long enough. We are expected to supply our cars for work yet we are worse off. It's totally unfair."

Among the aggrieved are senior council officers, including Mr Alan Cogswell who is the principal education welfare officer, and some who have since left or retired.

A council spokesman said: "This is a long standing matter and we understand it is one of a chain of similar claims being made against various Local Authorities.

"The issues are disputed and the matter is currently in the hands of the council lawyers."

The full list of claimants is as follows:-

Mr Andrew Crawford, Mr Mark William Nightingale, Mr Harry Graham Howard, Mrs Alice Lawson, Mr Robert Anthony Litke, Mr John Holt, Mr Paul Louden, Mr C. Bayfield, Mr Peter Stokes, Mr Andrew Liddle.

Mr Craig Schofield, Mr Philip Hewitt, Mr Barry Francis Woodhams, Mr G. Hamblett, Mr Terence J. Shiels, Ms Collette Goodwin, Ms Jane Brejwo, Mr Alexander Dunn, Mr Stuart Andrew Ingham, A. Cogswell.

Mr Stephen Stratton, Miss Barbara Susan Hicks, Ms Monica Wright, Mr Neil David Lonsdale, Mr Brian Marden, Mr Kenneth James Dickinson, Mr John Coffey, Mr Darren Nield, Mr Philip Stansfield, Mr Andrew M. Tolley.

Ms Gwynneth Settle, Ms Cynthia Jenyon, Mr Donald Haigh, Ms Lorraine Chamberlin, Mr Mark Earnshaw, Ms Brenda E. Jackson, Ms Judith Mullineux, Mr Peter Jagger, Mr Peter Spencer, Mr John Ashley.

Mr Kevin James Dearden, Mr Charles Fudge, Ms Sheila Bell, Mr Ian Lee, Mr David Christopher Barber, Mr Tom Buggie, Mr S. Hadcroft, Mr Keith Powell, Mr Brian Wainwright, Mr Michael Bryn Hardisty.

Mr Keith Osbourne, Mr Alan Wilkes, Mr Colin Hamer, Mr William Rees, Mr Kenneth Davies, Ms Julie Mary Riley, Ms Jennifer Clegg, Mr Stephen Clegg, Mr Kenneth M Field, Mr Denis White.

K. Johnson, Ms Sandra Brierley, Mr David P. Kay, Mr Christopher David Horth, Ms Elizabeth Hazel Doyle, Ms Lynda J. Byrne, Mr David Francis, Mr David L. Burgess, Shahda P. Iqbal, B. French.

Mr Thomas Keith Bond, S.R. Stott, Mr James Chapman, Mrs Dorothy Donaldson, Mr Martin John Rimmer, Mr Paul Holmes, Mr Kenneth John Buckley, Mr Martin Dowding, C. Weston, Mr William Steven Bateson.

Ms Ann Dunning, Mr Robert John Hughes, Mrs Janice Bullen, Mr Chris Edgar, Mr John S. Schoon, Sally J. Fletcher, Mrs S. Hadcroft, Alan Andrew Maquire, Robert Kendall, Sheelagh Rayn.

Mr C. Edgar, Peter L. Taylor, Naomi Davies, Mr J.G. Schoon, Mr Graham Wilkinson, Mr Paul Birch, Ms Lorraine Lander, Mr Martin Stott, Mr Paul Kenyon, Mr Derek Lowton.

Mr Paul Shellard, J. Ashley, Mr Peter James Cole, Mr Gary Brown, Mr Steve Whittaker.