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Leeds Council leader bans 'learning day' massages
Leeds City Council leader Keith Wakefield has stepped in to ban his fellow councillors from having free massages during a "learning day".
The free anti-stress massages were due to be enjoyed during four learning days in the Civic Hall arranged to help councillors carry out their duties.
Coun Wakefield said: "We will encourage members to take up the free blood pressure checks on the day, as we think this is important.
"However I have asked for the massage elements of the member development days to be scrapped because I don't believe it is appropriate – whether the council was paying for it or not.
"Some tough challenges lie ahead and although councillors need support and training in order to carry out their role, they certainly don't need their heads massaged or to be talked to about stress.
"I've asked for a new schedule for the development days to be drafted, which concentrates on the important matters."
Coun Alan Lamb (Con, Wetherby) has hit out at some of the activities as a waste of council resources. He said the estimated total cost of the learning days was 10,000 and added: "There is nothing wrong with councillors receiving relevant training to perform their role but getting guidance on how to manage your blood pressure is simply unacceptable – I know that my blood pressure rose when I saw this scheme."
A council spokesman said: "We have a duty to support elected members to do their job as councillors and that's why we have what we call our member development programme.
"Running workshops such as how to fully understand the planning process and to make use of tools such as social media is entirely appropriate.
"The managing stress elements of the learning days aren't costing the council a penny – they are being offered free of charge by a number of private healthcare companies and do not form part of the formal training programme.
"The 10,000 relates only to the training that we have a duty to offer our councillors."
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Weather for Leeds
Saturday 11 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -2 C to 0 C
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Wind direction: South
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