A member of the Isle of Wight Council has this week called for an urgent investigation into payments of almost £300,000 to the consulting firm Atkins, as part of an on-going dispute between the Council and Island Roads over the PFI contract.
Cllr Chris Whitehouse (Conservative, Newport West) has written to the Council’s Monitoring Officer to ask for an urgent investigation to be launched because a total of £298,572 paid to the firm ‘was not in the approved current Budget of the Counci’l and ‘does not appear to have been authorized by any decision of the Executive or the Full Council’.
The Isle of Wight Council say the spend has been in accordance with council procedures and within agreed budgets and scope of authority.
It has been said for some time that there are problems with the 25-year PFI contract and in February of this year Atkins were brought in to assist with the management of the contract, however specific details of the contractual problems have been kept under wraps.
It was initially said Atkins would be working with the Isle of Wight Council for a period of up to 6 months, however 9 months on and the work continues.
Payments to Atkins
27th March 2015 – £45,338.13
15th April 2015 – £45,338.13
17th June 2015 – £108,158.14 (full amount then refunded)
17th June 2015 – £65,546.31
17th June 2015 – £42,611.84
10th July 2015 – £43,977.80
10th July 2015 – £27,880.12
5th August 2015 – £27,880.12
Total Amount: £298,572.45
Cllr Whitehouse says:
“I was shocked to find that almost £300,000 has been paid to this firm when all we agreed was around £30,000. We have now paid ten times that amount and the bills, we are told privately, are still mounting.
“This is no way to behave with substantial amounts of public money. What is more, when I asked about this at Full Council last week I was met with a petulant outburst by Cllr Jordan who refused to provide the information. That is no way to behave in public office and brings the Council into disrepute.
“Islanders are entitled to know why this money has been paid, who approved that payment and why that decision was not referred either to the Executive or to the Full Council for approval.”
In a statement issued to Island Echo, Cllr Phil Jordan, Isle of Wight Council Executive member responsible for highways PFI said:
“The work Atkins is doing on behalf of the council is important to informing the council’s approach to the management of the contract and will save the council, and therefore Island taxpayers, money over the remaining 23 years of the PFI contract.
“Although the total cost spent so far is £270,000, the original estimated cost of the works was based on the council’s then understanding of the contract but the scope of Atkins’ work has had to be increased in order to deal with all of the issues identified through the project. However the vast majority of this cost has been funded from savings already made on the contract, plus the budget of salaries from vacant positions in the contract management team.
“The work is nearing completion and final negotiations on aspects of the highways PFI contract are also close to being finalised.
“The authority to appoint Atkins came from a senior officer decision which is entirely in accordance with council procedures and within agreed budgets and scope of authority.
“Had this work not been carried out, there is an inevitable risk we would incur far greater costs over the next 23 years than provided for in the council’s already tight budget”.
