We always welcome a Letter to the Editor to share with our readers. This one from Cowes resident James Luke. Ed
At the PFI Roadshow held in Newport (7th November), the PFI Director clearly stated that the PFI contractual documents would be published in a fortnight.
I am disappointed to inform you that this timeline has not been met and that the Council have informed me that they are not yet ready to publish the documents.
The Council have stated, “As you can appreciate the contract itself is a substantial document which contains many schedules and annexes. We need to ensure therefore that the contract is presented on our Website in a way that is both accessible and easy to view.
“Unfortunately, this process does take a little time but we are working at placing the documents onto our Website in stages with the main body of the contract to be uploaded early next week and for the remaining schedules and annexes to follow over the next two weeks.”
Refused request under FOIA
I originally requested the list of contractual dependencies in a Freedom of Information Act request submitted on the 1st October.
The Council are required by the Freedom of Information Act to respond as quickly as possible and within 20 working days. On the 20th working day the Council replied with only brief information and the statement that the full contractual documents would be available within “a few weeks”. This is now the subject of an appeal.
Will Isle of Wight Council honour their promise?
How can we be sure that the Council will honour this latest promise to release the documents early next week?
Given that the contract has been signed, I do not understand why it is taking so much time to prepare the documents for publication.
Any serious modification in the contractual documents would surely be inappropriate as we need to see the legally binding documents (not modifications of them).
Public interest is high
There is a clear public interest in these documents and I can see no reason for ongoing delays in releasing.
We have been clearly told that the PFI contract can be delivered without the need for the proposed Asphalt Plant.
This position has been stated by the PFI Director and by Councillors Pugh and Giles. It is in the public interest to confirm that this is the case.
Image: Stephen Edmonds under CC BY 2.0
