The use of non-disclosure agreements “leaves a bad taste” in the mouth, the Isle of Wight council leader has admitted.
But she said in the case of Floating Bridge 6, the settlement was the difference between a deal or no deal.
Addressing full council on Wednesday, Cllr Lora Peacey-Wilcox said the administration would not have used a non-disclosure agreement if they had not felt it was the only way to get a considerable financial contribution.
Settlement for undisclosed sum
It follows the news the Isle of Wight council has concluded legal mediation with the boat builders and marine architects and secured an undisclosed sum of money.
Nothing else was said about the settlement and the Isle of Wight council has refused to comment further.
Robertson: ‘Secret back-room deal’
The move has been criticised and was called ‘completely unacceptable’ and a ‘secret back-room deal’ by Cllr Joe Robertson, the Conservative opposition leader at County Hall.
At Wednesday’s meeting, Cllr Peacey-Wilcox confirmed the concealment of the settlement figure was down to the third-party insurers of the commercial contractors — Mainstay Marine and Burness Corlett Three Quays.
Peacey-Wilcox: I still pledge to deliver the best for this Island
Cllr Peacey-Wilcox said,
“I wake up every morning trying to find new ways to do the best for Islanders and while NDAs leave a very bad taste in your mouth, they were used by the previous administration as well for commercially sensitive information.
“In this instance, given a choice between picking a deal or no deal, I put my trust in officers to do the right thing.
“I still have trust in them and while it will never be a perfect solution, we have one that was better for the Island than hoped for and it means we can move on to more pressing matters.
“I still pledge to deliver the best for this Island, even if it makes me unpopular with opposition colleagues.”
Motion to ‘rebuke’ leader withdrawn
A motion was due to be heard later in the meeting, put forward by Cllr Geoff Brodie, which called on the council to ‘rebuke’ Cllr Peacey-Wilcox for failing to share a delegated decision she made back in February about granting authority to an officer to conclude mediation.
The motion was withdrawn, but at the start of the meeting, while answering a public question, Cllr Peacey-Wilcox laid out a timeline of the updates the council were given about the mediation process through various committees and questions.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is taking part in. Some alterations and additions may have been made by OnTheWight. Ed
