Rail authority seeks spin doctor to boost image for £480,000

The beleaguered Strategic Rail Authority was under fire yesterday for offering up to £480,000 of public money for advice from spin doctors on how to improve its image.

Already heavily criticised by ministers for the "extraordinarily high" increase in the number of consultants it employs, the SRA is seeking the services of blue-chip public relations specialists to give it "strategic" advice.

The Government is considering a plan to strip the authority of much of its power as part of a fundamental review of the industry. Ministers have become increasingly anxious about the industry's ability to soak up billions in public money without any improvement in punctuality and reliability of services.

One of the contracts on offer from the authority is seeking "high-level strategic counsel and primary development of SRA/rail industry messages as well as issues and scenario planning". The other includes "relationship enhancement and building with the city and private investors generally (sic)." The advertisement indicates that the SRA will pay up to £240,000 a year for two years to the successful bidder.

John Thurso, the Liberal Democrat transport spokesman, said: "Imagine how many badly needed CCTV cameras and loos could be installed in stations for that kind of money. The SRA has rightly been criticised for its addiction to consultants. [This] must mean they are seriously worried about future funding of the rail network. This should not be a matter for secret City meetings, this should be a matter for the Government and open communication."

Mr Thurso has told the Commons that the SRA spent £20m in nine months on consultancy fees. Based on official figures, Liberal Democrat research showed expenditure on consultants by the authority had risen from £4.8m in 2001 to £25.9m in 2003. The rail directorate at the Department for Transport spent £10.5m on external advice in 2001 and £23.7m in 2003. The Office of the Rail Regulator paid £1.1m to consultants in 2001 and £3.4m in 2003. Ceri Evans, head of communications at the SRA and "in-house" spin doctor, said the authority was highly unlikely to spend the £480,000.

He said the authority was duty-bound under European rules to include the maximum amount the organisation was prepared to spend, adding: "It's likely to be less than a fifth of that figure." Mr Evans said the SRA already employed similar advice on an ad hoc basis and it needed access to the City to reassure the private sector.

His organisation employed seven full-time communications staff including himself, and his department's budget was £800,000 to £900,000. He said it was possible no one would be offered the contract. "The industry operates as a public-private partnership so the private sector is very important. We need to speak their language so we can give them comfort. Above all, we want to deliver value for money."

Kim Howells, the Transport minister, told the Commons last month that the Government had demanded to know why there had been a "dramatic" rise in the amount of money spent by the authority on consultancy.