In The Public Domain?

Wednesday, 9 April 2014

Skidder Shorts - No 5 - Conflict of Interest?

When yobbish Sandwell Council (SMBC) decided to shaft The Public the so-called "cabinet" were presented with a "Fundamental Review". Needless to say, in the Secret State of Sandwell this has never been fully disclosed. A small part of it - heavily redacted - can be seen as item 7 of the cabinet agenda for 13th October, 2013.

(In passing, I should add that even though the decision to close The Public and to gift it to the College had been made long before 13th October, 2013 the redacted document shows that even at that late stage, SMBC had STILL not completed a capital appraisal for the project! As I have said repeatedly, this was rushed through for political reasons and was all "back of an envelope"- stuff! This probably explains the horrendously crap deal the Turdmeister & Co have foisted on the people of Sandwell - still secret, natch).

With regard to smashing-up the architect-designed building paragraph 1.6 (heavily redacted) says, "Legal advice has confirmed that Sandwell Futures Limited can be commissioned to carry out this work....." (and so it came to pass.....).

Sandwell Futures Limited is controlled by Interserve Plc and Dalmore Capital.

Now take a look at the signatories to the Fundamental Review on the 4th page. These include Director of Improvement and Efficiency (sic) MELANIE DUDLEY who, therefore, was part of all this.

FACT - MELANIE DUDLEY is a Director of Sandwell Futures Limited!

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Tuesday, 8 April 2014

Sandwell Council & Interserve - Part 2 - Because We Can!

This is, unfortunately, a detailed note showing how Sandwell Council (SMBC) have skewed their procurement process to avoid open competition and tendering in many areas and to funnel millions to Interserve and its related companies away from public scrutiny for up to 25 years!. What follows may be a bit heavy but you will realise how important this is when you see the amounts of public money involved.

In 2007, SMBC decided to enter the horrendously expensive Building Schools for the Future ("BSF") programme and, in accordance with EU procurement law, published a Notice in the Official Journal of the EU. This signalled the commencement of a search for a private company to join with them as a Local Education Partnership ("LEP"). Eventually, two companies were left in the tendering process, Balfour Beatty & Interserve. As far as one can tell, all was "above board", and Interserve hit the jackpot.

It seems quite clear from SMBC documentation that the INTENTION at the time was for this procurement to apply simply to the BSF programme and for that alone. For example, this from the full Council agenda of 3rd March, 2009 (unless they were just lying, of course):

"1.4 Sandwell is in two waves of the National Programme Wave 3 and Wave
5, subject to future public spending decisions, which will enable a
continuous programme of investment across the whole secondary estate.

1.5 An OJEU notice was published on 9th August 2007, which signalled the
commencement of the procurement process for a Local Education Partner
to deliver Sandwell’s BSF programme. Sandwell’s procurement will follow
the competitive dialogue procurement procedures in line with EU
Regulations and use the standard documentation produced by
Partnerships for Schools (PfS), the national body responsible for the
delivery of BSF.
1.6 The BSF programme covers four key contracts;
• The Strategic Partnering Agreement for the LEP which is a 10 year
arrangement with an option to extend for a further 5 years
• The PFI Contract for a 25 year period
• The ICT Contract for an initial 5 years with an option to extend a
further 5 years
• The Facilities Management Contract for 25 years with an option to
break in respect of soft FM at years 10, 15 and 20."

And:

"2.2 That the Council confirm the continued pursuit of Building Schools for the
Future as its strategic direction for the transformation, rebuilding and
renewal of its secondary education provision in Sandwell."

But then SMBC wanted to broadened the remit so that the LEP could also handle other Government programmes and other school/educational projects, thus from the same agenda document:

"6.9 At the ITCD stage of the process, the two consortia were required to

provide responses to various documents that SMBC issued. Bidders had

to supply details of how they will establish and work with SMBC in a Local

Education Partnership (LEP) to transform education in Sandwell, their

designs and Facilities Management (FM) options for a 25 year PFI

scheme for Rowley Learning Campus, their designs for the Smethwick

Learning Campus design and build scheme, FM arrangements for the

Smethwick Learning Campus, financial models, proposals for a managed

ICT service in secondary schools in the BSF programme, including a

learning platform, data centre, building management systems integration

and transformation, additional services (including the Primary Capital

Programme, professional construction related and property services and

learning platform, equipment, software, technical support and consultancy

and management information systems offered to non-BSF schools

including primary schools and academies) and comments on draft

contracts and payment mechanisms. The same documents were

submitted for Final Bid stage but they reflected discussions that had taken

place during the dialogue period."

And let us look at the the Deputy Leader, Eling's, "Corporate Procurement Strategy" of January, 2010 - prepared shortly AFTER the LEP was formed:

"4.5 Building Schools for the Future

The Council has recently appointed a private sector partner,

Environments for Learning (E4L) following a rigorous

Competitive Dialogue process, which in turn equates to a formal

Local Education Partnership (LEP).

The outcome of this is a partnership who will “take Sandwell

secondary schools into the 21st century” and the appointment of

145 craft apprentice places supported by the Council’s “Think

Local Construction”."

(As an aside, the very next paragraph trumpeted another great SMBC deal - Transform Sandwell - a financial disaster now prematurely ended!)

But whilst the LEP was clearly intended to be used for the BSF and ancillary schemes the lawyers had been to work and broadened the remit still further so that the LEP could (allegedly) involve itself way beyond the educational remit and provide services as disparate as the "construction of office blocks" to, and I kid you not, the "construction of crematoria" and "restaurants". Here is the full list, if you don't believe me, from the EU contract history 2009/S 149-217829

(Just as an aside again, one has to wonder, given that SMBC argue that they can effectively do what they like under this "contract", and that the above includes "construction for buildings related to leisure, sports etc", why the contract for Wednesbury Leisure Centre was put out to separate tender although, happily, Interserve won it! It may also explain why money has been flowing to Sandwell Futures Limited (Interserve) from SMBC budgets which have no apparent connection with education eg "Street Scene". Also, SMBC are just about to expend large sums of taxpayers' money on their crematoria (nearly £1m) and it will be interesting to see if Interserve have "won" the work for that too. Don't forget - this is all under the spurious heading of "Building for Schools"!)

Now have a look at this further detail from the EU Notice:

CONTRACT AWARD NOTICE

SECTION II: OBJECT OF THE CONTRACT
II.1) DESCRIPTION
II.1.1) Title attributed to the contract by the contracting authority:
Sandwell Schools for the Future Programme.
II.1.2) Type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of
performance: Services.
Service category: No 11.
Main place of performance: The Borough of Sandwell and adjacent areas.
NUTS code UKG34.
II.1.3) The notice involves: The conclusion of a framework agreement.
II.1.4) Short description of the contract or purchase(s): The contracting
Authorities were seeking an innovative private sector partner or partners
to particiapte and invest in a new Public Private partnership vehicle (a
"Local Education Partnership" or "LEP") to be established jointly with
some or all of the contracting authorities.
The LEP will provide (or arrange the provision of) "Partnering Services",
which will include (but not be limited to) the development of a strategic
investment programme for:
a) Educational Facilities (including the secondary school estate of the
Borough Council of Sandwell with the potential to extend this to primary
schools, childrens centres, Academies and other educational facilities);
b) there is also the potential to include other community facilities to be
co-located on schools sites including community centres, libraries and
health facilities; together the "Relevant Facilities")in the contracting
authorities' area. These Partnering Services may also comprise of the
following services:
a) strategy advisory services;
b) programme management services;
c) project development services;
d) procurement consultancy services;
e) procurement and delivery of all services required to deliver the
strategic investment programme for the
Relevant Facilities (including through the provision, integration and
management of supply chain arrangements).
It is anticipated that such services may include:
i) architectural services;
ii) engineering services;
iii) construction services;
iv) technical services;
v) building services;
vi) hard facilites management services;
vii) soft facilities management services;
viii) information communication and technology ("ICT") services;
ix) transportation services;
x) educational support services;
xi) educational programme development services;
xii) educational strategy services;
xiii) professioanl construction related/property services and operational
asset management services (these services may also be required in respect
of facilities other than the Relevant Facilities but which are within the
overall estate of the Borough Council of Sandwell which, for the avoidance
of doubt, includes housing stock managed by Sandwell Homes Limited).
Operational asset management services may include but not be restricted to
facilities management services; for a period of up to 15 years.
The ICT services provided by the LEP may extend beyond the Relevant
Facilities to the wider estate of the Borough Council of Sandwell and to
other users of ICT services which are provided by or through the Borough
Council of Sandwell.
Where professional construction related/property services and operational
asset management services are required by Sandwell Homes Limited, the LEP
may be required to contract directly with Sandwell Homes Limited or
Sandwell Homes Limited may purchase the LEP's services from or through the
Borough Council of Sandwell. The relevant facilities or other facilities
provided by the LEP, which may be a mixture of new build, remodelled and
refurbished facilities, will be delivered under the Private Finance
Initiative (PFI) and/or design and build arrangements. This may include
the delivery of the Relevant Facilities (or other facilities) through
separate Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) established by the LEP. Where an
SPV is established, the shareholders in such SPV may include the LEP,
third party equity providers and supply chain members. The contracting
authorities may contract with the LEP or, where an SPV is established,
directly with the SPV. The LEP may also be required to provide for, or
arrange for the provision (through supply chain arrangements) of, the
management and/or integration of the Partnering Services, design and build
construction contracts, facilities management services, support services
and ICT services (this list is not exhaustive) where the contracting
authorities' existing arrangements are either transferred or expire.

SECTION V: AWARD OF CONTRACT
TITLE: Sandwell Schools for the Future Programme.
V.1) DATE OF CONTRACT AWARD: 31.7.2009.
V.2) NUMBER OF OFFERS RECEIVED: 2.
V.3) NAME AND ADDRESS OF ECONOMIC OPERATOR TO WHOM THE CONTRACT HAS BEEN
AWARDED: Environments for Learning Limited, 395 George Road, Erdington,
UK-Birmingham B23 7RZ. E-mail: info.projects@interserve.com. Tel. +44
1213444888. URL: www.interserve.com. Fax +44 1213567493.
SECTION VI: COMPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
VI.1) CONTRACT RELATED TO A PROJECT AND/OR PROGRAMME FINANCED BY
COMMUNITY FUNDS: No.
VI.4) DATE OF DISPATCH OF THIS NOTICE: 4.8.2009."

You will note that the "contract" - the clue is in the first three letters - has been extended still further so that such matters as "housing" can be included in the, er, Building Schools scheme! Indeed, it has been re-named to just the "provision of services" which it seems, according to SMBC, means they can effectively do what they like. The other question that arises, is who polices these multi-million pound "deals" once they have started to ensure that the taxpayer is getting good value for money?

One has to wonder whether SMBC was hoodwinked into drafting the contract so widely or whether it did so deliberately. In any event, they rely on it to maintain secrecy surrounding these multi-million pound contracts. As a mere amateur lay-person, it is impossible to pick out what money is going where although you will see from, for example, my blogpost of 9th January, 2014 "Interserve and Sandwell Council" that the sums are very large indeed. The SMBC budget for 2014/15 makes just a passing reference to £98m (excluding other contracts and ancillary costs) wrapped up in PFI deals & finance leases alone but no breakdown is provided. As long as I can keep going and as long as SMBC refuses to give voluntary disclosure, this will, unfortunately, lead to a string of Freedom of Information requests although SMBC will still try and maintain secrecy by hiding behind confidentiality clauses which, in many cases, their OWN lawyers have drawn up to thwart public disclosure! Open democracy Sandwell "Socialist"-style!

Of course, not all the money is coming from the long-suffering Sandwell taxpayer (though a lot IS) but it is coming from us as taxpayers nationally and from what SMBC calls "prudential borrowing" (which has to be repaid via the taxpayer). Under BSF, for example, large sums were paid by the Government but, again, there is no publicly-available breakdown. Since 2010 the BSF scheme has been stopped and whilst some other schemes continue, eg the Priority Schools Building Programme, Sandwell seems to be increasingly ploughing its own furrow under its misguided "leadership". By using redacted information in Council minutes, awarding bizarre contracts like The Public to Interserve without tender, and then by relying on "confidentiality" clauses to prevent FOI disclosure The Turdmeister & Co can put two fingers up to us mere scum and tell us it is none or our business!

In the specific case of The Public, the so-called "Fundamental Review" that went to the "cabinet" has never been publicly-disclosed and the only available version is heavily redacted. SMBC have purported to award Interserve a contract worth around £6.7m without open tender under the above "LEP" scheme and it HAS contested release of the contractual information via FOI requests. Not bad since they have "spun" the yarn that this nonsense somehow constitutes a "great" deal for Sandwell!

For some peculiar reason Sandwell Futures Limited (Interserve) is specifically named as the "LEP" in The Public "deal" whereas in the EU Journal the LEP is a different Interserve company, Environments for Learning Limited. All very odd and something to be investigated further (again I invite SMBC to voluntarily disclose information to avoid the necessity of further FOI requests). I should also mention here that the main officer of SMBC in charge of the team setting-up the above, incredibly widely-drawn "contract", was a SMBC Director called Melanie Dudley. She is still not only a highly-paid employee of SMBC but also a Director of Sandwell Futures Limited. One other SMBC employee is also a Director.

Sandwell Futures Limited is said to be a "partnership" but SMBC have only a 10% shareholding. The main shareholders are the socialist (not!) Interserve and Dalmore Capital (in place of Barclays Bank). Whilst it is difficult to follow these weird contracts here is detail from the latest accounts which shows who money is going OUT of Sandwell Futures to:

Year End 30/09/13

To Agilysis & Cambridge Education                          £6.6 MILLION

To Dalmore Capital & Barclays Bank                        £527,000

To Sandwell Council                                                £135,000 (yes, thousand)

To Interserve & related companies                       £38.3 MILLION       (some "partnership"!)

Further, there is the Medium-Term Finance Strategy 2014-2017 attached to SMBC's budget. Strangely, the reference to The Public is not contained in a reference to the LEP but in respect of a so-called "strategic partnership" with Sandwell College. The reference to the LEP is, despite the above, just in respect of educational facilities. SMBC will receive (from the national taxpayer) large sums via grants and payments under the Primary Capital Programme and such like schemes but will also "prudentially borrow" to fund part of the programme or even, it seems, pursue further PFI schemes! It appears that for years to come this AND other works will not have to be put out to tender but simply gifted to Interserve. This is the throwaway line from the strategy document:

"The LEP was formed in spring 2009 and will assist the Council in transformational change to be brought about in learning through the support of £370 million in new school facilities."

Serious money!  Three hundred and seventy million - and mostly to Interserve! No wonder they were so anxious to "help-out" with the destruction of The Public!

It remains to be seen how SMBC will continue to try to enjoy the secrecy surrounding these deals and whether people will get well and truly shafted - as with The Public and like the unfortunate SMBC women employees in respect of "equal pay" - via good old Sandwell Labour. 

Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should - but that doesn't seem to apply in Sandwell!

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NEW CONFIDENTIAL PHONE NUMBER FOR INFORMATION CONCERNING SANDWELL COUNCIL, SANDWELL COLLEGE AND INTERSERVE:

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Friday, 4 April 2014

Sandwell Council - Utter Contempt for Freedom of Information Law

Remember the £39,000 of taxpayers' money Sandwell Council (SMBC) spent on the, as it turned out, useless reports from Jones Lang LaSalle? These were prepared by early summer 2012 but SMBC refused to make them public. On 31st October, 2013 Mr J Maher put in a Freedom of Information (FoI) request for disclosure which was refused, mostly on the ground of alleged commercial confidentiality.

Using his twitter account @sandwellleader - unbelievably, actually the "leader" of SMBC - Cooper - said the reports would be released but then back-tracked on this and they remained secret. But on 3rd January 2014 (with the FoI request still unanswered) the reports suddenly found their way to the Express and Star newspaper in Wolverhampton who were only too happy to print an article complete with a quote from Cooper. I used Twitter at the time to point out that this was totally unsatisfactory. Even then, the reports were not finally disclosed (with redactions) for some considerable time.

Fast forward to the pathetically-named "Concordat" ie the dodgy contracts relating to the destruction of The Public. This time, local people are indebted to Mr Darryl Magher for his FOI requests to both SMBC and to Sandwell College. Both public bodies were unable to comply with the legal time limit for disclosure but eventually they both disclosed page after page of documents with ALL the material information redacted. I am not concerned with the College here but only with SMBC.

One of the major reasons for redacting the information was that information was protected from FoI by confidentiality clauses between the parties - including some that had actually been inserted into the contracts by the Solicitors acting for SMBC, Ashfords! It was argued that to disclose the information would actually be a breach of contract.

Fortunately, on this occasion, Mr Magher appealed this nonsense by requesting an "internal review" - this step being a prerequisite to a referral to the Information Commissioner. That review is still in progress.

But step forward Cooper again. Yesterday (or the day before) he gave some of the redacted information to the Express and Star - or at least someone did - but he was happy to provide a commentary on same. This is absolutely unacceptable noting SMBC's refusal to disclose pursuant to the law of the land, and particularly as the "internal review" is still in progress.

We must assume that Cooper/SMBC have received permission for disclosure from Sandwell College, Sandwell Futures Limited and Interserve Construction Limited otherwise there would appear to have been a material breach of the contractual terms the parties were at pains to draw-up to prevent access (all at considerable public expense). I say that the parties cannot pick and choose what they release and now that partial disclosure has been made, all further arguments of confidentiality are otiose and should be overruled.

I will be sending this blog to the Information Commissioner by way of formal complaint and, hopefully, Mr Magher himself will complain. Please feel free to use this blogpost yourselves to complain either to the Chief Executive of SMBC and/or to the Information Commissioner (e-mail to casework@ico.org.uk - include your phone number).

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Thursday, 3 April 2014

Sandwell College's Gift to Labour (from the taxpayer......)

Regulars readers will know that Sandwell College, Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council (Labour-controlled) and Interserve have stitched up a deal between them to the exclusion of all other parties and without putting the multi-million pound construction contract out to tender or other open competition for the destruction of The Public, West Bromwich and its tacky conversion into a college.

They have done their best to keep the deal secret even though it is entirely funded by the taxpayer and a Freedom Of Information Act request was treated with utter contempt for us mere scum - see my earlier blog - "Taking the Urine". The FOI request is now subject to an appeal but don't hold your breath.....This secrecy is all very strange as this was supposed to be such a "great" deal!

In November, 2013 the £165,000 Chief Executive of Sandwell SMBC was put on the Board of Governors of the College. At their meeting of 9th December, 2013 - the minutes of which are still being kept secret even though we are now into April - they resolved as follows:

Sandwell College

Extract from the minutes of the meeting of the Board of Governors
held on Monday 9th December 2013

B13.172 Approval of Expenditure B13.172

i) Rental of Rooms at Terry Duffy House

The Vice-Principal (D&ER) presented a report seeking approval for the College to
rent a number of rooms in Terry Duffy House from January to June 2014 in order to
accommodate programmes for the unemployed. This request was being made as
there were no rooms available within Central Campus. The income from the
unemployed programmes and associated costs were explained. It was noted that
IT, furniture and whiteboards would be transferable to the Public.

RESOLVED: that the Board of Governors approve a short term lease of the
second floor of Terry Duffy House, from January to June 2014, at a
total cost of £47,118.10 including VAT (total cost includes rent, IT,
furniture, carpet, whiteboards and legal fees).

No wonder they have been keeping this secret! Because the minutes are still being hidden it is not yet known whether Britton was actually at the meeting.

TERRY DUFFY HOUSE IS OWNED BY LABOUR PARTY PROPERTIES LIMITED. It is the base for the local Labour Party and for two Labour MP's - Wealthy Watson and Bailey (who he?).

There are acres of empty offices in West Bromwich but this just happened to be the venue chosen! This is public money being spent and so one must wonder why the taxpayer is buying carpet for the Labour Party when the College is, allegedly, only staying for 6 months. Knocking off the VAT & the fripperies I guess the rent for just one floor only is £5,000 a month or more (ie at least £30,000 of the ex-vat sum). A tidy little donation to Labour with election expenses arising.

It remains to be seen as this scandal unfolds whether Ed Milliband will arrange for this money to be returned to the taxpayer. Has he got the Balls (and I don't mean the bloke who helped wreck the economy)?

PS If anyone can let me know the identity of the College's auditors to save me looking it up that would be helpful.

THE SANDWELL SKIDDER - A COMMUNITY BLOG

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Saturday, 29 March 2014

Skidder Shorts #4 - The Art of Spin

The Art of Spin Revisited!

Sandwell Council recently trumpeted expenditure of £500,000 on new LED lanterns for the street lighting in the Borough - presumably so that people could better see the all-pervading dog-turds strewing the streets. The press release was duly trotted out by the local media without question (even though SMBC keeps claiming to be hard-up).

Of course, this is all taxpayer money but, hey, it's environmental (?), will save power (?) etc etc. Doesn't sound too bad does it?

But what is this in the "Street Scene" capital budget 2013/14 -"Street Lighting LED replacement - £371,000 - "prudential" borrowing! Strangely there was no mention of this in the press release nor in comments from councillors. And so, like much else in Cooper's Wongaland, it is not "tax and spend" but "borrow and spend".

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Skidder Shorts #3 - An Interesting Comment on the Economy.....

An interesting comment on the economy:

"Until 2013, the economic recovery in the UK since 2008 had been the worst and
slowest recovery in recent history, however growth has rebounded during 2013 to
surpass all expectations, propelled by recovery in consumer spending and the
housing market. Forward surveys are also currently very positive in indicating that
growth prospects are strong for 2014, not only in the UK economy as a whole, but
in all three main sectors, services, manufacturing and construction.

One drag on the economy is that wage inflation continues to remain significantly
below CPI inflation so disposable income and living standards are under pressure,
although income tax cuts have ameliorated this to some extent. This means that
labour productivity must improve significantly, for this situation to be corrected by
the warranting of increases in pay rates."

So as long as everyone works harder it should all be OK.... Now where did this come from? George Osborne? The Daily Blackshirt?

In fact it is from the Budget document for "socialist" (sic) Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council. Right On, Comrades!

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Monday, 24 March 2014

Skidder Shorts #2 - MP's Expenses (Labour) - Sandwell

Wealthy Tom Watson still tops the list of Sandwell MP's for expenses.

The figures for 2013-2014 show that the scourge of Eton College, ex-public school boy John Spellar, got by on a modest £12,442.27p whilst Bailey (who he? - Ed) next door and with (presumably) similar travel, office costs etc clocked-up a whopping £23,237,14 according to the IPSA website.

But for more than two Spellars you get one Watson. The would-be London restaurateur, Champagne Tommy, received a mere £27,833.97 from hard-pressed taxpayers.

Why the big difference when they all come from the same small area?

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