Concern at council giving an official £100m budget
ADECISION to hand sweeping powers and a £104 million budget to a senior Bristol City Council official is being challenged.
Opposition Conservatives have invoked the “call-in” procedure after the Labour cabinet approved the authority’s housing development programme, which is the main way council homes are delivered in the city.
They say the decision, part of the annual housing revenue budget, grants wide-ranging, “virtually unfettered” procurement powers to the executive director of growth and regeneration.
Now a specially convened council meeting will be held on Monday to decide whether it needs to be reconsidered.
A report to cabinet earlier this month said the housing programme had the potential to provide 571 new homes over the next five years, mainly through “developer-led” schemes, where properties are bought from developers, and “landled” projects using council land.
Members gave the official delegated authority to commit and allocate up to £103.7 million, move funding between budgets, agree sites, finance and tenure types and approve individual deals, bids, contractors and professional services.
The Tories say all this comes with only a “weak requirement” to consult other officials and the finance political lead.
Group leader Cllr Mark Weston, one of five Conservative members to sign the call-in, said: “We have not taken this action lightly.
“Our sole motivation is to ensure that far more serious consideration is given to the proposed granting to an individual employee, or even a select few, virtual unfettered discretion in taking major procurement decisions.
“The idea of reducing longstanding safeguards in such procedures, presumably on the grounds of speeding up the process, remains a fundamentally bad one.
“These rules and restrictions are there to protect both the taxpayer and officials charged with responsibility over the use of public money.
“At a time when the mayor is rightly criticised over the opaque nature of his administration and his disregard of scrutiny, this latest move represents a step too far.”
The call-in sub-committee of the overview and scrutiny management board meets on Monday to decide whether no further action is required, to send the matter back to cabinet or refer it to a meeting of full council for wider debate.
On the form invoking the procedure, Cllr Weston, along with councillors Steve Smith, Richard Eddy, John Goulandris and Claire Hiscott, says: “It is clearly unreasonable to relax the requirements, rules or regulations governing tendering processes when contracting with potential developers.
“The move to devolve or delegate decision-making for significant contracts to a senior officer, without scrutiny oversight, is not conducive to transparency, nor is it usually regarded as an example of good practice for obvious reasons (ie, undue influence, bias etc).”
The cabinet report said: “All projects will be subject to a full financial appraisal and a scheme-specific approval report.
“They will also be required to meet agreed investment criteria and achievement of value for money.”
The council, mayor’s office and Labour group were asked for a comment.