WALTHAM FOREST: Poor fund probes cost taxpayer £116k (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)
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WALTHAM FOREST: Poor fund probes cost taxpayer £116k
6:10pm Wednesday 17th June 2009 in Waltham Forest News
MORE than £116,000 has been spent on investigations into Waltham Forest council's mismanagement of millions of pounds.
The inquiries, which centred around the misuse of regeneration funds since 2004, found contracts were poorly administered and monitored.
Figures released by the council show two reviews by CSK Strategies cost the taxpayer more than £50,000.
One review looked into an allegation that schools management company EduAction used thousands of pounds it was paid to help vulnerable pupils to boost profits.
A subsequent police investigation found insufficient evidence to mount a prosecution.
The second review examined the contracts issued under the Better Neighbourhoods Initiative (BNI) from 2006-8, which remain under investigation by independent auditors.
More than £34,000 was also spent on an audit of BNI contracts, carried out by Pricewaterhouse Coopers, and as of May 15, almost £32,000 had been spent on “further internal investigation”.
The council's Corporate Audit and Anti-Fraud Team (CAAFT) also carried out inquiries into the YAR contract with EduAction for 2004/6 and a 2006 contract with Dr Foster Intelligence (DFI).
DFI delivered a flawed report after being contracted without rules to prevent fraud being followed.
The total cost of the probes to date stands at £116,273.11.
Chief executive Andrew Kilburn has ordered the scope of the ongoing investigations to be broadened in order to maintain the authority’s integrity.
A council contract with consultants Renaisi, which was tendered without following anti-fraud rules, is now being investigated.
A senior officer, who has been classed as a whistleblower, has been suspended as part of this inquiry.
Nick Tiratsoo, whose investigations unearthed many of the problems with BNI contracts, said: "I think this whole situation is lamentable and reflects very badly on those involved.
"Finally admitting that there was a problem after years of prevarication and denial, the council then rushed into employing consultants to report on the mess, at great expense, but little purpose.
"The fact that the incoming chief executive now believes it necessary to have yet another inquiry speaks for itself.
"Those living in Waltham Forest's poorest wards have not only seen millions of pounds of Government regeneration money wasted, they are now having to pay through the nose to find out what went wrong.
"In my view, heads should roll."
Comments(12)
Walthamster
says...
6:48pm Wed 17 Jun 09
But don't worry, there's always plenty for councillors' junkets and pay rises.
Fresh Gravee
says...
10:42am Thu 18 Jun 09
Walthamster wrote:It is incredible how, the expenses row MP's and Loakes and all this just goes on unnoticed. There is a bit of public interest and then an inquiry and then it all gets swept under the carpet and onto the next scandal. Gordon Brown was on the ropes cut and bleeding last week and he has bounced back like nothing has happened! Apathy me thinks among the hard working and no interest amongst the not-working with nothing to worry about.
Fresh G: when did this council ever spend money on real needs? It all goes on consultants, dodgy contracts, failed development schemes, or (according to their sloppy accounts) into thin air.
But don't worry, there's always plenty for councillors' junkets and pay rises.
Sugarplum
says...
12:01pm Thu 18 Jun 09
Cllr Ed Northover
says...
12:07pm Thu 18 Jun 09
It is - as it should be - a huge embarrassment to the Council. The fact that so much money has been spent in working out where the original money went is a sad reflection on the way this Council manages public funds. Although this has been a cost to us all, the ultimate losers here are the people of Cann Hall and Cathall who continue to be neglected by the Town Hall, received nothing tangible from the BNI and are now paying their pro-rata share of the clean-up costs.
I would like to think that heads will roll. Sadly, given the number of officers quietly departing, I don't think there will be any bodies left to decapitate by the time the latest enquiry reports. But the councillors will still be there, no doubt apportioning the blame to the departed. We must therefore ensure that those councillors associated with the BNI fiasco are held suitably accountable when the time of reckoning comes.
mdj
says...
2:51pm Thu 18 Jun 09
And has a line not been cropped from this article which said that a council employee went to work for Renaisi at the time the contract was signed?
mdj
says...
3:08pm Thu 18 Jun 09
'Michael Toyer:
Michael has recently joined Renaisi as a Principal Consultant. He has extensive experience of strategy development, data analysis, performance management, consultation and project management in a partnership environment. Prior to joining Renaisi, he worked at Waltham Forest as the Strategy & Research Manager where he managed the development of the borough’s innovative Sustainable Community Strategy for the Local Strategic Partnership.
While at Waltham Forest, Michael also led on a number of key projects that have contributed to the Borough’s improvement journey towards a four star or excellent rating. He led the production of a corporate approach to strategy development, developed and negotiated the pilot Local Area Agreement, established a partnership data-sharing system and provided policy advice on key partnership strategies such as community cohesion and climate change.'
It's an interesting exercise to look up these fresh-faced young consultancy munchkins, and try and work out from the acronyms, quangos,initiatives, partnerships and journeys what any of the blighters actually DO.
PPS Does nothing in a Council's Code of Conduct prohibit going to work for a body with which the Council has been conducting business recently? If not, why not?
NT
says...
4:12pm Thu 18 Jun 09
Rob Pearce is Renaisi’s Director of Strategy. Prior to joining Renaisi he held a number of senior positions in local authorities most recently Assistant Chief Executive (Regeneration and Partnerships) and subsequently Assistant Director of Development (covering Planning, Regeneration and the 2012 Olympics) in Waltham Forest. He led that Council’s innovative approach to place shaping refocusing the Local Strategic Partnership and combining the development of the Sustainable Communities Plan, the Local Development Framework and the Council’s Local Area Agreement (LAA). Before joining Waltham Forest he spent four years at the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) for Local Government covering a number of roles concluding in the Head of Policy and Strategy where he was involved at a national level in the development and subsequent roll out of Local Area Agreements and other national initiatives. At the IDeA he was also responsible for the development and delivery of national best practice services to local government.
Rob has most recently put together the brief for masterplanning the “Northern Olympic Fringe” – largely Waltham Forest but including parts of the other Olympic Park boroughs and being taken forward with the LTGDC.
Rob had an extensive background in local government before joining Renaisi having worked for three London Boroughs a County and a District Council.
mdj
says...
5:24pm Thu 18 Jun 09
Dervish
says...
11:49pm Thu 18 Jun 09
How can the council justify spending public money on investigators to investigate what an investigator has already investigated?
Do these investigations give recommendations for remedial action and does the reinvestigation of the investigation have recommendations and if so what are they?
Surely this malarkey is not value for money and a blatant misuse of public funds.
It seems to be that the public are leading the investigation so give the money back to the community or just let us know where you are advertising these Jobs for the boys so that we can have an opportunity to apply as I recon we would do a better job than council….
Well done Nick Tiratsoo and co for not taking your eye off the ball!
leabridgeresident
says...
8:33am Fri 19 Jun 09
Mrs Scrutiny
says...
7:36pm Fri 19 Jun 09
And why is the council spending so much money on employing consultants…are they saying that their staff are not competent to do the work required of them. I would be interested to know how much money we have/are spending on these guys?
Answers on a postcard please.
Fresh Gravee says...
6:31pm Wed 17 Jun 09
I think heads should role, roll and fly! Why did they not just give the $116K to the poor in the first place?