Council ignores rules on Contracts for Fairfield Halls

Im delighted to see that the Council has released some money to be spent on the Fairfield Halls.

A local company, ITC Concepts of Purley Way, have been awarded the contract to refurbish the foyer of the Fairfield Halls. This from the pot of £1million that the Council awarded to the Fairfield Halls earlier in the year. Good news indeed!

Erm, except that this company seems to be on site doing the works already. Fairfield in Pictures mini web site shows progress.

So, it is interesting to note that no signed contract should exist for this piece of work.

The Council is obliged to list all decisions that meet certain financial criteria and then follow a process of scrutiny by the borough councillors, if those councillors think fit to check and ask questions. Value for money, or the correct procedure having been followed. The sort of things that you expect your local councillors to ask.

The Council even has a special area of its web site dedicated to these official notices.
http://www.croydon.gov.uk/democracy/dande/policies/keydecisions/

The key decision for the Fairfield ceiling is here, made on the 23rd July by the Leader of the Council

That key decision can only be implemented and I quote from the notice "[the] decisions may be implemented from 1300 hours on 30 July 2010 unless referred to the Scrutiny and Overview Committee:"

It is currently 28 July 2010. I am not aware of any 'call in' of this decision, but a group of councillors may wish to check this contract award out? Hopefully that is what borough Councillors are for?

I declare an interest at this point as a council appointed Director of the Fairfield Halls. I am delighted the works are going ahead. I just question why the Council can not do things properly. The Chief Executive of the Council is also a Director of the Fairfield Halls, as is the deputy leader of the Council and another Tory Councillor.

Surely it looks a bit odd for such highly placed people who run the Council (politically and managerially) to award contracts and then ignore the Council constitution that has serious checks and balances in place to protect the interests of the residents of Croydon?

Democracy and accountability must be seen to be done or we end up in great difficulty. I just want Council officers to plan decision making properly. Is that too much to ask? I hope not.