Cost of council’s rescue plan revealed
BOSSES SAY THEY WILL SPEND £172K ON CONSULTANT’S FEE
BOSSES at Nottingham City Council plan to spend £172,000 on a consultant to help advise it on the threeyear recovery plan they were instructed to publish by the Government.
It comes as hundreds of redundancies were made earlier this year, with more expected imminently.
The consultant is expected to look specifically at the council’s relationship with its companies.
Councillor David Mellen, Labour leader of the council, said the move would help “reshape the council, and make sure it’s fit for the future”.
Government inspectors were sent in to the Labour-run council after it was criticised for the handling of Robin Hood Energy, the customer base of which has now been sold to British Gas with losses of around £38 million.
Led by Max Caller, inspectors said that while they had confidence in the new leadership to turn the council round, they wanted the authority to publish a three-year recovery plan to return it to a financial even footing. The outline of this plan was confirmed by the council last week.
Now, the council has approved £172,000. which it says will be used
“for the appointment of a consultant to provide external financial expertise in response to the multiple issues raised in respect of companies within the Report in the Public Interest on Nottingham City Council’s Governance Arrangements for Robin Hood Energy and the report arising from Non Statutory Review of Nottingham City Council”.
Separately, the inspection recommended that an independent panel be set up to monitor progress on the action plan.
Although this is a requirement by the Government to improve finances, and is a Governmentappointed panel, the council has been told it must fundit to the tune of £300,000 a year for the next three years.
A council report states: “As part of responding to the Report in the Public Interest and the Non Statutory Review undertaken by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, a review will need to take place on the council’s governance and operation of its interests in its companies portfolio.
“This will support the requirements of the reviews and the establishment of a shareholder executive unit.
The option to resource this work internally was rejected because the work will require specialist commercial skills that are not available within the council.”
The council has also said it plans not to advertise the post on the open market (known as tendering) – as would normally be expected – but instead to directly award it to their preferred consultant.
The decision states the council will “delegate authority to the Strategic Director of Finance to award the contract to the chosen consultant” and “approve dispensation from (rules) to make a direct award of the contract”.
Councillor Mellen, who is represents the Dales ward for Labour, said: “We have accepted all the recommendations made in the Government’s Non Statutory Review, including the production of a recovery and improvement plan to address the matters raised.
“The report made clear that external specialist support would be needed to successfully complete the challenge ahead of us and in cases like this it’s expected councils will pay for the costs.”