BOSSES from profit-hungry Civica finally attended a council meeting on Tuesday about their Worcestershire Hub takeover, a service helping thousands with queries on everything from potholes to bus passes.

Civica’s Nick Jefferies told politicians that rather than axe jobs, the company would be finding extra work and employing more people in due course.

He may want to check his story with the county council – one of the main beneficiaries from this eight-year deal aimed at saving £2.6 million.

Back in April Sarah Daniel, a County Hall manager, admitted the company would oversee “a reduction in the headcount” to achieve that – saving cash to boost its thirsty profits, of course.

* A KEY point of Tuesday’s debate was whether the targets Civica has been set are ambitious enough.

Tory Stephen Hodgson, who chairs a city council committee analysing performance, asked the company: “The targets our officers have set, are they more or less stringent than what you’d set yourself?”

These targets have actually been laid down by councillors – leading The Source to wonder whether our man needs more tender couple time.

Conservative Chris Mitchell told him one of the main politicians overseeing it has happened to be Councillor Lucy Hodgson – Stephen’s very own wife!

* THERE’S a suggestion doing the rounds at County Hall that libraries could take in hair salons to bring in a few bob. You mean MORE cuts?

* DAVID Cameron’s Syria motion on Wednesday asked for support on “airstrikes, exclusively against Isil” to defeat the terrorist rogues.

There we have it – our PM has invented the world’s first bomb that pauses for an ID check before blowing people to bits.

Yeah right.

* LABOUR’S Richard Boorn is the latest councillor fed up with gobbledygook, saying of a city council finance report: “Personally, I don’t think there’s a great deal of clarity for the man in the street.”

Said report uses terms like “high level forecasts”, “compensating underspends”, “bereavement forecast shortfall”, “complex debtor accounts” and “forecast actuals”.

Does anyone actually talk like this at home?