Regular readers will remember VB breaking the news last week that the delegated decision by Cabinet member Cllr George Brown to spend up to £220,000 on a new lift at the Ventnor Botanic Garden (VBG) was recently ‘called-in’ by four members of the Scrutiny Committee.
Later today (5pm at County Hall), Cllr George Brown will be answering to the committee about his decision.
Public welcome
The public are welcome to attend and 15 minutes before the meeting is given over for public question time.
Cllrs, Vanessa Churchman, Colin Richards, Reg Barry and Heather Humby chose to call the decision in for further scrutiny after being unhappy with the justification for spending such as large amount of money, when cuts are being made to vital services.
The call-in was based on the following ….
The decision to award the catering contract was made in April 2010 with a proviso that a new lift was installed by the Council. Why is a decision being rushed through 6 months later?
According to Cllr Brown an estimated figure of £220k was put forward by Property Services. Why was this not incorporated in the Forward Plan? The Chairman of the Procurement Board queried the terms of the catering contract with regard to revenue for the Council – why were these queries not followed up more robustly?
The original report mentions the use of the revenue budget from the Gardens if more money should be required, what does that mean? The current lift has never worked properly and we need to understand and correct internal procedures when faced with serious failures in publicly funded projects – especially in the light of the new contracts being awarded, eg Cowes Pathfinder.
We are told this is urgent but no timeframe has been mentioned and when is it intended that tenders and works will be carried out?
We hope to be at the meeting and report back.
