The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Investigation pledge on £4.4m roofing blunder
The leader of Dundee City Council has promised a full investigation into a roof replacement error that is going to cost taxpayers £4.4 million.
John Alexander says there were “multiple points of failure” that led to the local authority installing roofing that is below British safety standards.
The “gross error” by the council will cost an estimated £4.4m to put right.
The blunder affects 450 houses, though the council has refused to confirm to The Courier which ones are affected, saying residents will be informed directly.
Opposition councillors have called for those who oversaw the error to be held accountable.
Councillor Kevin Keenan, the Labour group leader, said: “This isn’t going to go away and we want to know who is going to be held responsible. Someone has to be.
“My understanding is that there were people at the council who were aware of this as long ago as the beginning of 2020.
“I am concerned that the council thought this would simply go away and they would never be faced with answering questions about what happened.
“We are demanding answers.
“I believe someone knows, chapter and verse, what happened and we want to know why that has never been shared with opposition councillors.”
It comes as the council may also be forced to fork out for repairs at the Olympia swimming pool, which is closed due to an “unexpected” lighting problem, with a report on that set to go before councillors next month.
Mr Alexander, who heads up the council’s SNP-led administration, says the roofing blunder is not a political issue – and that opposition members had as much involvement in the work as his own party did.
He said: “There will be an internal investigation through our independent audit process, a further report to the scrutiny committee chaired by the opposition and another to the policy and resources committee.
“In addition, the administration will be seeking agreement from opposition politicians for an external independent viewpoint.
“It is right that councillors understand where those points of failure were and what will be done about it.
“Matters of discipline and staffing sit with the chief executive and senior management, not with councillors, but I am certain that officers are looking deeply into this, to determine what action needs to be taken.”
He added: “There were multiple points of failure including, as noted in the report, within the clerk of works service, whose sole function is to ensure standards and quality specifications are met.
“As soon as there was full clarity on the extent, nature and potential costs of this a report was brought forward to committee and councillors were briefed.”
Labour says it is concerned that cuts made by the council in recent years may have happened with the need to fill this £4.4m gap in mind.
Mr Alexander denied that, stating: “At no point was that the case.
“Decisions made at other times have no relationship to the roofing report and to suggest otherwise is false.”
Maurice Golden, North East Scotland MSP for the Scottish Conservatives, has backed calls for a full probe.
He said: “As a single example this is an astonishing oversight.
“Local authorities across the country have been cut to the bone, so unexpected penalties like this could well end up in reduced services or council taxpayers footing the bill in other ways.
“The council can barely afford this one, let alone any other mistakes when it comes to safety standards in building.”
Councillors will discuss a report into the blunder on Monday.