CONSULTANTS have been paid more than £170,000 of taxpayers' money to deliver "executive coaching" to some of Kent County Council's top officers.

The money was paid to the Penna Consultancy over three years, according to details disclosed to the Kent Messenger Group under the Freedom of Information Act.

Among those who participated in the training workshops organised by Penna were some of KCC's most senior officers.

KCC said it had appointed Penna "to design and deliver a custom-made leading edge development programme for all KCC senior managers".

It had approached the company to devise a training course as part of the council's "long track record of investing in the development of its senior managers, which has helped the council achieve its excellent status".

In total, 91 managers have been on the programme devised for KCC by Penna, at a total cost of £173,750.

In a statement, KCC said this consisted of a "three-day course, plus post-course options of executive coaching, action learning sets and a virtual alumni network".

We asked the county council to tell us why Penna was contracted, the details of its contract and what work the firm had done for the authority.

We also asked for any background held by KCC in relation to Penna's work.

In a one-page statement, KCC said Penna was chosen because of the "innovative nature of their proposal; reputation ?and track record, cost comparison and because it demonstrated an insight into issues facing KCC".

However, KCC provided no background documentation, saying that what existed dealt with "administrative matters such as booking individuals on courses".

It also refused to disclose the content of the training programme, saying it was "the intellectual property of KCC and Penna".

On its website, Penna describes itself as "a human capital management consultancy which helps you to optimise business performance through people".

The firm's clients include several leading high street banks and leading financial and insurance groups.