Tories in 'unlawful' £34m privatisation scandal

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Thu 9th Apr 2009

Brian Hoare, leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Northamptonshire County Council

Bosses at County Hall have today confirmed that senior councillors failed to safeguard over £34m of taxpayers' money as part of a 'pioneering' privatisation contract.

Papers, published in advance of a crunch council meeting this month, have confirmed that several high-profile politicians failed to ask key questions of council staff and contractors in allowing an 'unlawful' contract to privatise the management of key council buildings and frontline services.

The report will now be put to County Councillors at their meeting on 21st April.

The contract, commissioned by the council in 2007, was hailed by Conservative chiefs in County Hall as the first of its kind in the country. Managing the fallout from the report will be a major embarrassment for Conservative bosses just eight weeks before the council's June elections.

Commenting ahead of the report, Lib Dem Opposition Leader Brian Hoare said:

"If the news is as bad as expected, taxpayers in Northamptonshire will have little confidence in the Conservatives' ability to carry on after June.

"Just weeks before an election, senior councillors will now be tied up dealing with this latest mess, instead of fixing our county's roads and schools.

"If the contract has to be terminated, jobs across the county's schools and libraries will be under threat. If this happens, I will be asking some pretty searching questions of the Conservatives' top team.

"Senior Conservative councillors will pass the buck onto council staff, lawyers and the firm involved. Opposition councillors and members of the public cannot let this one slide so soon before an election."

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

1. You can read a copy of the County Council's report here: http://cmis.northamptonshire.gov.uk/CmisWebPublic/Binary.ashx?Document=5304

2. The four-year deal, agreed with private contractor Carillion, formally commenced on 22nd January 2007.

3. No formal Cabinet decision to enter into the contract can be identified in Cabinet minutes from 13th March 2006, when the Cabinet approved its countywide Property Strategy.