Today Westminster Council were able to switch-on around 120 CCTV cameras used to issue parking tickets, box junction fines and other motoring fines. The cameras have been undergoing a major upgrade, during which time the council claim to have lost around £6 million in revenue (view details here).
But the Council have come under criticism from the public and motoring campaigners who say the cameras are poorly signed and are mostly used to raise revenue from the motorist.
Indeed a short tour around the streets of Westminster today revealed CCTV cameras often placed very high up, with only a very small sign visible, signs which often compete with other information signs. We also came across many of the small CCTV signs on streets where no CCTV was in operation. Signs in neighbouring boroughs are approximately four times as large as the ones found in Westminster today.
When asked about this by the BBC, Cllr Chalkley said “All the camera locations are available on our website for anybody to inspect, and also the camera locations are clearly identified on the street with signage.”
Westminster's broken CCTV website
But when we visited the Councils website to learn of the locations only one of the 18 map links worked, the rest just displayed a restricted access message.
Chalkley not telling the truth again
The Council strongly deny that the cameras are for raising revenue, but we question why Westminster CCTV signs are so small. But as the Council say they are not there to raise revenue why would the councils Chief Executive say “Non-availability of CCTV has contributed £6m to the in year deficit.“? Answers in an email to mmore@westminster.gov.uk please, this man needs your help?
In November The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) asked Westminster’s Chief Executive, Mike More to go back to the head of Westminster’s legal team (Peter Large) to cook up an explanation for the European Commissioners regarding a complaint made to them. The complaint centres around the setting up of framework contracts for the Westminster Council led quango Partnerships in Parking (PiP).
PiP was the brain child of second in command at Westminster Council Alastair Gilchrist and Councillor Danny Chalkley. The main idea behind PiP was to cut down the amount of tendering Councils had to do when awarding contracts. But PiP expanded beyond its seven original members, inviting other boroughs to join them if they paid PiP a percentage of the turnover on contracts.
One early PiP contract winner was Verrus who supply the Pay By Phone technology behind Westminster’s unpopular scooter and motorcycle parking tax. Unfortunately Verrus’s eyes became too big for their belly, when they started asking new members of PiP to try them out (view Verrus letter here), and if it all went well there was no need for them to do one of those pesky tenders, they could just sign up with Verrus no questions asked. But the inevitable letter leaked out.
PiP made no secret of the fact that they wanted to expand right across the UK, with all other UK local Authorities welcome to join PiP and use Verrus, again without any need to tender. So what of the other Pay-by-phone companies in the UK and Europe, they wouldn’t get a look in until at least 2015. This is in clear violation of EU directives, hence the EU complaint, it’s also monopolistic and anti competition hence the Office of Fair Trade investigation who are also having a hard look at PiP.
So what did the EU commission think of Mike Mores reply. We understand his reply to the European Commission is wholly unsatisfactory. He will be given eight more weeks to come up with something more believable for the Commission, or they will take the UK Government to the European Court. Well that doesn’t say very much for Peter Large’s legal department, perhaps he should go back to playing board games. You see Peter Large had a brief break from taking the taxpayers pounds, as a mediocre professional chess player.
Although responsibility for this mess rests with Westminster City Council, it will be the UK Government which has to defend the way PiP as been run so far. Could this be why so many MP’s are keeping their heads down on this, refusing to even speak to their constituents. Because if the EU do have to take the Government to court it will be slap bang in the middle of a local and general election.
Where are you Gilchrist
But MP’s are not the only ones keeping their heads down, Nutsville has heard that the original 7 PiP members have been told by Alastair Gilchrist to stop using those dodgy framework agreements to award new contracts. This effectively leaves PiP dead in the water, and all that tax payers money used to set PiP up, tut tut. Alastair seems to have gone to ground, as he was due to give a seminar extolling the virtues of PiP at this weeks ParkEx exhibition. ParkEx press office told us that Alastair’s seminar was cancelled only the day before he was due to take the stand. This might all just put a bit of a dent in Alastair’s two main goals in life, to be Chief Executive of Westminster Council and to get a Knighthood.
We will never know what the merits of PiP were now
And what of Councillor Danny Chalkley, well he seems to spending his days throwing darts in to a wall full of Post It notes, each with a different lame excuse on it for introducing the bike parking tax. Only this week he has a letter published in the West End Extra implying that scooters and motorcycles caused too much congestion on London roads (view letter here). Chalkley should really just keep his mouth shut, as bikers and scooter riders are planning to show him every Wednesday morning just how much they can congest if you treat them like cars (view details here). Still he’s only biding his time now, as we hear he won’t be standing for re-election as a Westminster Councillor this year. But you won’t like his replacement very much.
Nutsville says beware the ides of march Westminster Council, as they still plan to go ahead with their slap up feeding frenzy next Tuesday. As the good ship Barrow sinks deeper into the mire. All we hear from the Council leader Colin Barrow this week is that he sourly wished his opposite number Paul Dimoldenberg a “miserable” 60th birthday. So Cllr Dimoldenberg gave Cllr Barrow a nice money saving tip in return. If the bike parking tax was scrapped, all the residents of Westminster could have £10 knocked off their parking permit fees. That’s if the Councils latest figures are true that the bike parking tax is losing £430,000 per year. Perhaps Cllr Barrow is too preoccupied wondering nervously when we are going to do THAT story. Don’t worry Colin, it’s coming.
Yesterday solicitors acting on behalf of the No To Bike Parking Tax group lodged papers at the high court to challenge the reasons behind the introduction of charging powered two wheelers (PTW’s) on the streets of Westminster. The NTBPT group have been campaigning hard for Westminster Council to scrap the parking tax, since its introduction in August 2008.
We have seen the Council flip flop between excuses, which have been methodically demolished by the NTBPT group. Westminster Council are increasingly looking like a teetering house of cards, coming under scrutiny from multiple forces*. In a desperate last ditch effort to fight back the mounting tide of pressure, Westminster Council produced a new set of figures like no other they’ve produced before. It seems that in a blink of an eye the Council has switched from making millions of pounds surplus from the bike parking tax, to a near half a million pound loss. The Council now have to produce their defence of the parking tax, which has deterred many PTW riders from visiting Westminster, leaving just those that have no choice.
When you look at the overall picture the whole sorry affair looks like a work of fiction that would even rival a Harry Potter story. So far what has been the benefit to the tax payers of Westminster, those that pay to keep the borough going? They have a Council that will ignore their wishes and opinions to push through a tax costing more to run than it collects, if you can believe the latest Council figures. A tax which drives shoppers away from it’s heart, a tax which forces people to use their cars instead of their congestion friendly PTW’s. A tax which has tied up Councillors, senior officers and other staff with an avalanche of paperwork. A tax which has created regular media exposure bringing shame and condemnation on the borough. A tax which the Council will now have to spend an as yet incalculable amount of more tax payers money defending itself against the likes of the EU Commission, The Metropolitan Police and of course the NTBPT campaigners.
So if it’s not the taxpayers, the PTW riders or the shopkeepers and businesses of Westminster who have benefited from the Councils parking tax, who has? Well it only leaves the share holders of two private companies. NSL Services who provide the parking enforcement, a company which we have seen will do anything at all to meet the Councils targets for parking tickets. In return the Council were happy to just hand over the parking contract to NSL, without the bother of any tender process. A multi million pound contract handed over that even the Councils Head of Legal Services Peter Large admitted was a ‘bit flawed’. Then there’s the Canadian owned Verrus who run the Pay-By-Phone contract for Westminster. Verrus must have thought they’d hit the jackpot when they moved into Westminster. As not only did they secure very favourable transaction rates out of Westminster, they then behaved like the cat that got the cream, offering their services to the Westminster led Partnerships in Parking (PiP) members, brushing aside the need for legal tenders, or so they thought.
Gilchrist
Naughty boys Verrus thought they had everything in place, cashless parking had arrived in Westminster like it or not. Verrus formed a very close and uncomfortable relationship with head of PiP, taxpayer funded council officer Alistair Gilchrist. Gilchrist cosyied up to Verrus and persuaded a few very gullible and naive Councillors that they could squeeze a few extra million from PTW riders.
It was all supposed to be so easy, Gilchrist told the Councillors there might bit a little bit of opposition from PTW riders, but that would all die out in just a few months. He was so sure of himself he even mocked the first small group of NTBPT campaigners who came to meet him, deriding their lack of numbers. But neither Gilchrist or the hoodwinked Councillors could anticipate the team of researchers, IT experts, legal minds and stubborn ‘won’t take no for an answer‘ crew the NTBPT group would build. Campaigners have proved to Gilchrist and his now increasingly distant supporters what a mistake it was not to understand just what type of person chooses to ride on two wheels. It’s now 19 months on, and still the NTBPT subscriber list continues to grow, along with it’s satellite FaceBook group.
The signs are all there that the Council are getting their fingers burnt on this one. Mike More the Councils chief Executive can barely bring himself to defend the Councils behaviour. Even now still trying to play down the seriousness of the Police complaint against two of his most senior officers. More has been unable to even defend the actions of the very Councillors who conspired to steam roller this tax through, so far refusing to answer enquiries from the Council Ombudsman. Will More also ignore the number of MP’s that are also asking for an explanation?
Even the two companies which were once rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of a contract with the richest Council in the land must be having second thoughts. Poor NSL Services are reported to have been shown the door, as the Evening Standard tell us their services are no longer required in Westminster. Now even Verrus who were once so sure of themselves have now written to Gilchrist to ask him if he is absolutely 100% sure that their framework contracts are legal. Yes of course they are, nothing to worry about came the reply from Gilchrist. But if that’s the case why are the EU Commission looking so very very hard at the complaint made by the NTBPT . A good sign for the NTBPT campaigners, but not so good for Verrus and Gilchrist. If we were Verrus we’d be looking through the yellow pages for a good lawyer, as Gilchrist has been spectacularly wrong before, the PiP party could soon be over.
Was the bike parking worth all this Councillor Chalkley?
* Commission of the European Communities has launched an investigation into ‘the Member State, United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland for Violations of Directive 2004/18/EC of the European Parliament & the Council of March 2004 on the co-ordination of procedures for the award of public works contracts, public supply contracts & public service contracts (O.J. 2004 L 134/114) with respect to the award of the Pay-by-Phone contract by WCC on behalf of PiP’ The case number for this investigation is SG-CDC-2008-A-7695 — GESTDEM 2009-5139
The Metropolitan Police (Crime No. 6507270/10) have begun an investigation into alleged offences under the Fraud Act, and Gross Misconduct in Public Office against two senior officers in Westminster City Council.
The case concerns the awarding of a multi million-pound parking enforcement contract to private firm NSL Services. European Union law says that contracts worth more than £156,442 must be opened to tender to any interested company and advertised in the EU’s official journal. Westminster’s parking contract is worth about £13m a year, and was previously being carried out by private parking firm NCP.
There are also several more outstanding complaints lodged with the District Auditor, The Office of Fair Trade, The Local Government Ombudsman and The Information Commission.
As No To Bike Parking Taxes campaigners get set to take on Westminster City Council in the courts over the much reviled PTW parking tax, Council officers have been forced to produce a set of figures (download here) which set out to show that the tax was not, as the campaigners claim, all about revenue raising. In a surprising difference to all previous council figures, officers now claim that “the enforcement service is operating at a loss: costs are projected to be 134% of revenue“. Which means that on-street bike parking, which has traditionally been free, is now going to cost Westminster taxpayers over £430,000.
This is in stark contrast to the figures presented to the March 31st 2009 Scrutiny Committee meeting, where after Councilors were told of the embarrassingly large amount of profit the tax had generated, they decided to keep the tax. Even though the council had received the largest opposition it’s ever known, dismayed residents and other stakeholders witnessed Cllr Angela Harvey, Cllr Alan Bradley, Cllr Susie Burbridge, Cllr Ian Adams, Cllr Carolyn Keen, Cllr Angela Hooper, Cllr Andrew Smith and tuck-o-war anchor man Cllr Frixos Tombolis all stick their trotters in the air voting to keep taxing scooter and motorcyclist no matter what the consequences.
Chairman of the No To Bike Parking Taxes campaign, Warren Djanogly said of the latest figures “they have vastly over-inflated the costs to make the projected profit look small. But this leaves only two scenarios: either they are lying to the High Court, or their managerial competence is on a par with the infamous Board of Marconi to render one of the most profitable elements of WCC accounts a loss maker…..all in a mere 11 months“.
Leader of the Labour Group, Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg issued a press release today in which he said “These figures show beyond doubt that not only are Westminster’s motorbike charges unpopular, controversial and divisive, but they are also a financial disaster for Westminster Council Tax payers”
Nutsville has been told of the devastating consequences the No To Bike Parking Taxes campaigners are having on council officers as as they tear around in a complete frenzy trying to fire-fight their way out of the hole they’ve dug themselves into. Information passed to Nutsville only tonight suggest that there are still further revelations exposing just just how much mayhem campaigners actions have caused behind the scenes so far. Westminster Council seems as if it will be once again seen as a national disgrace as one humiliating story after another will leak out in the coming months.
Nutsville keeps asking, was this bike parking tax worth the price you’re starting to pay?
Conservative Councillors are still planning to go ahead with the lavish taxpayer funded civic dinner in two weeks time.
Campaigners today called for the immediate resignation of Westminster City Council Chief Executive, Mike More, for his failure to take appropriate action against 2 senior WCC Officers who firstly, have been named as subject to a Police investigation, and secondly, have admitted to authorising the payment of invoices from unauthorised, non-contracted suppliers.
As Council Officers around the UK were left reeling at the announcement that WCC had become the second Council subject to a Police investigation with regards to their dealings with NSL Limited, NTBPT Chairman, Warren Djanogly, who filed the complaint against WCC following advice as to his civil duty from the District Auditor, expressed outrage at the response he has received directly from Mr More. Instead of expressing any gratitude for bringing these most serious of matters to his attention, More penned what Djanogly describes as “An intimidatory email musing on whether I had considered the potential consequences of making, and publicising, unwarranted allegations of fraud against public officials.”
Damned if they did, damned if they didn’t
Referring to the complaint lodged with the Police, Djanogly explained “Had Mr More bothered to read the complaint before hastily jumping to vilify its author, he would be in no doubt that there can be only one of two possible outcomes. Either the allegations of document fabrication are warranted, or these individuals have conspired to deceive the Cabinet, since no reference to any variation or change of contractor was made known to the Audit & Performance Committee in February 2009, deliberately concealing the now admitted procedural flaws that allowed “newco” NCP Services Limted to have been illegitimately novated the £14m annual contract firstly, by an Officer without delegated powers, and secondly, without proper financial probity of it, or even the Parent Company alleged to have supplied a guarantee. Either outcome would surely warrant an immediate suspension if not dismissal.”
Reflecting that it could be Mr More himself who has not considered the potential consequences of his inaction, Djanogly added: “this is the second time I have brought evidence to Mr More of highly questionable behaviour of these 2 officers. The first related to violations of procurement procedures & framework agreements, which Mr More simply brushed aside, now the subject of a full EU Commissioners’ investigation. That episode alone would seem to cast doubt of Mr More’s tenure as Chief Executive of a Public Authority.”
Illegitimate authorising of payments of public monies to private contractors
Djanogly continued: ”However, with this second episode so clearly demanding swift & severe sanction against these 2 whatever the outcome of an external Police inquiry, Mr More’s has failed to address the even more damning evidence admitted by Mr Large regarding performance payments to contractors between March 2007 (when National Car Parks Ltd vacated the contracts) to March 2008, the date of the alleged “novation”. In an emailed reply to probing of this issue by Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg, Mr Large claims that new contractor NCP Services Ltd didn’t start to receive payment until January 2008, prior to which payments were being made to a certain NCP Services. For Mr Large to list this distinction is his own acknowledgement that payments, indisputably authorised by then Head of Parking, Mr Gilchrist, were being made to a totally unauthorised, and uncontracted legal entity. Any continued refusal by Mr More to do anything short of either suspending or dismissing these individuals must surely render his position untenable”.
In response to Mr More’s press statement claiming: “This allegation is part of an ongoing campaign by a motorbike protest group who are unhappy over parking charges in Westminster. We, however, remain confident that the parking contract was properly let by our officers and all allegations of fraud or deliberate wrongdoing are completely unfounded. We are now considering our legal position to see what action we should take in response to these claims but should there be an investigation we will fully co-operate with any police enquiry and I fully believe this will resolve the issue.”, Campaign spokesman, Charlie Lort-Phillips added: “Mr More’s statement is most notable for its omissions as regard to any internal action or investigation that WCC would be undertaking. Using the fact that the allegations had been made by a protest group as an excuse to do nothing would be bad enough. But to then claim confidence in the properly letting of contracts when WCC Head of Legal has already stated that the procedures were “Flawed” can only reinforce the view that Mr More is unfit to continue in Public Office.”
Campaigners point to a recent newspaper article by Council Leader Colin Barrow in which he claimed to be working hard to rid the Council of the Dame Shirley Porter legacy by becoming far more transparent, and now demand of Mr Barrow to make a statement as to Mr More’s future as a public servant if the gradually restoring integrity of the Council is to be preserved, that is assuming that Mr More does not do the honourable thing and resign.
Could this be the longest suspension for any parking bay, in Westminster’s Newman Street?
In August 2008 Westminster Council started charging powered two wheelers (PTW’s) to park, using their hugely unpopular Verrus supplied Pay-By-Phone system. The council first claimed they needed to charge PTW users to pay for the £23,000 cost of providing some extra bays. Now having forced riders to stump up for annual parking permits, the council starts reducing the number of parking bays for PTW riders. The council have sold off two of it’s covered car parks, and now we are noticing an increasing number of suspended parking bays appearing around the borough. But the above bay holds the record for the longest suspension ever, lasting until the end of 2017. Will people still be riding PTW’s by then?
If Westminster council were any normal council you would think you could write to the Councillor in charge of street management, one Danny Chalkley, to ask where the replacement bay is. But we can save you the time, you won’t receive a reply from this councillor, as he will sit on your letter for six weeks, then pass it on to the Freedom of Information team, who are anything but free. After they have sat on it for a few more weeks they will demand you stump up some cash to get an answer. Don’t believe us, check here.
If you do fancy asking some of these shy creatures a few questions directly, why not pop along to The Northumberland on March the 9th (view here). Chalkley and his Councillor pals are attending a £23,000 tax payer funded civic dinner in honour of…….., well themselves. You may get the chance to see some of these elusive creatures on the hoof so to speak. We’re sure they will have time for a quick chat, after all it’s an election year. Look out for them running from their cars to the hotel entrance, we are sure they will be coming by car, as they gave themselves city wide free parking permits.
Since April 2009 Westminster Council have been unable to use it’s vast £15 million CCTV network for parking enforcement, because they did not comply with the DfT’s Traffic Management Act 2006.
This was despite the Department for Transport advising councils of the new specification as far back as August 2007. But Westminster Councillor Danny Chalkley failed to act, resulting in the cameras requiring an expensive upgrade costing around £850,000. When the DfT’s traffic Management Act, came into force on April 1st 2009 Councillor Chalkley said “The DfT’s position is ludicrous and stuck in the dark ages”, which was possibly not the best way to win any friends over at the DfT.
In a bizarre reply to a question by Tom Edwards the BBC’s Transport Correspondent in March 2009 , Councillor Chalkley said “It’s a really bad news story for the motorist who wants to be able to drive around Westminster freely“.
Yet those motorists are better off to the tune of £6 million according to a recent council scrutiny committee report (download here), so do motorists need CCTV at all?
The council’s Chief Executive Mike More stated in the January 2010 report “City Council’s cameras did not receive the necessary device approval from the Vehicle Certification Agency by 31 March 2009 and as a result they have not been available for static parking enforcement. Despite upgrading the camera network and resubmitting the application to the VCA, we have still not received approval.” “Non-availability of CCTV has contributed £6m to the in year deficit.” Perhaps the approval delay is because the Government didn’t take kindly to being called ludicrous by the diminutive Councillor Chalkley, or is that Government guidance for the use of parking enforcement by CCTV is this:
“It is recommended by the secretary of state that enforcement by approved devices[such as CCTV] are used [for parking enforcement] only where enforcement is difficult or sensitive AND civil enforcement officer enforcement is not practical.”
Who would have thought that streets such as Regent Street were such a no go area for NSL’s parking wardens.
This really seems to be shaping up for another very bad year for Westminster Council, as only last week we described how the MET Police are studying a complaint into fraud and gross misconduct in public office against two of the Councils most senior officers. This complaint centres around the handling of the contract between the Council and their enforcement contractors NSL Services (formally known as NCP Services).
In an amazing bit of bad timing Nutsville’s man on the doorstep tells us that NCP Services Director and legal contact Damian Byrnes has scarpered off to Australia for good. Surely it can’t be true that someone as vital to any police investigation as Damian was last seen running into the Australian outback, can it?
Nutsville wouldn’t be surprised if this is only the first sign of many heads to fall in the coming months as a result of parking campaigners such as the No To Bike Parking Taxes and Neil Heron’s relentless drive to clean up the parking industry.
Collin Barrow
If this is to be how the dice are going to fall in Westminster there can be no excuses from senior officials such as Mike More, who campaigners say have been warned months ago about their concerns.
Nutsville’s readers are invited to pull up a comfy chair to watch if any pirates in parking jump overboard or go down with the ship. No doubt the ‘do nothing’ Captain Pugwash of council leaders, Collin Barrow will be resolutely saluting from the poop deck as the ship descends into a cold sea of scandal.
Turning out to be a very expensive and embarrassing bike parking tax isn’t it.
Westminster City Council are to go ahead with their annual taxpayer funded civic dinner at the The Northumberlandon Tuesday 9th March. It’s expected to cost the public £23,000 to provide a lavish menu for the 49 Conservative Councillors, who celebrate alongside invited lords, dukes, ambassadors and mayors in the Northumberlands’ recently refurbished ballroom.
But it seems as if invited guests will not be greeted with a warm welcome as the event attracts even more condemnation and disgust from critics. Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg Leader of Westminsters Labour Group said “Have they no sense of the public mood and the anger that many people feel about how some politicians have been taking public money for granted? Labour Councillors will be again boycotting this exclusive event. ” Councillor Dimoldenberg also pointed out that during the recent London freeze the Council could only find £17,000 for gritting, which left many of Westminster’s most vulnerable elderly residents at risk attempting to navigate along treacherous untreated pavements.
Union members have been sparked into action after Street Management Director Dean Ingledew laid out his ‘vision’ for the future for Westminster workers, which is a near 50% reduction in the workforce. Westminster Unison members have already withdrawn from voluntary tasks, and plan a rally outside City Hall at 6pm on the 22nd February. Unison are inviting any concerned residents and stakeholders to join their rally. Members of Unison also voted unanimously for a mass lobby outside the forthcoming civic dinner. Which just happens to be on the same day of another flash protest of the No To Bike Parking Tax campaigners.
It looks as if this civic dinner will turn into another PR disaster for Westminster Council, as guests will have to negotiate some very angry protestors. Nutsville wonders if any guests will decide to do the right thing and give up their free meal, or will they throw out their morals and run a gauntlet of shame to get to their dead pheasant surprise.
Westminster Council claim the event is to reward those who have worked so hard for their fellow residents. But then why is the Council not shouting about the event if it’s so worthy? With not even one page on the councils website explaining to the residents just why a select few are to be favoured at taxpayer expense. When Nutsville telephoned the council for any information on the dinner there was no one available with any information, and we were advised to call The Nothumberland, as they might know more than the council do.
So much for open transparent Government.
Bun-fight - a grand formal party on an important occasion
A British slang expression, originating in the 19th century.
The allusion is to the Victorian children's nursery at teatime,
the children having tea, inevitably squabbling over the buns,
teacakes, muffins and crumpets. (Two similar expressions
relating to the latter two treats are known from the middle
of the 19th century: crumpet-scramble and muffin-worry;
these have not survived.)
...Interestingly, some of the early uses of bun-fight
(these days, also often bunfight) borrowed the idea
of afternoon tea in the nursery but left out the fighting:
it could refer to the most decorous of engagements,
such as those one was invited to by elderly aunts
of the Wodehousian persuasion, at which squabbling
over food was inconceivable. Then, as now, a bun-fight
could more generally be any occasion at which food
was served, it often being a sarcastic term describing
rather formal ones for which guests had to dress up.
Campaigners seek Fraud Office probe as Westminster Council named in £200m+ NSL Parking Enforcement contract scandal
In a week in which Westminster City Council (WCC) pulled the parking enforcement contract from NSL Ltd, No To Bike Parking Tax Campaign Chairman, Warren Djanogly today confirmed that a full complaint had been lodged with the Metropolitan Police, crime no 6507270/10 that alleges offences under the Fraud Act and Gross Misconduct in Public Office against 2 senior WCC officers regarding the authority by which NSL came to perform the £14m annual WCC parking enforcement contract in March 2007 (download complaint here).
As part of a series of investigations that could eventually involve over 30 Councils and could also result in their being ordered to repay over £200m in illegally issued PCN’s, clamps & vehicle removals, WCC would become the second Council, after Sunderland to be subject of a Police investigation as these Councils struggle to justify how they allowed NSL Ltd to be “awarded” the lucrative parking enforcement contracts vacated by National Car Parks Ltd following its sale to the Macquarie Group in March 2007 without appearing to go through the necessary procurement protocols and procedures.
With a handful of the Councils now hoping to rely on hurriedly prepared “Deeds of Novation” (legal transfer) in favour of NCP Services, under the perceived notion that its effects could be “backdated” at will, campaigners point to the tests clearly set out by the ECJ that any novation agreement, or any other “transfer” of a public services contract from one economic operator to another would come within the scope of the public procurement rules, and require a new tendering process.
Campaigners allege that the potential loss of valuable revenue during the inevitable hiatus that a retendering process would have caused may well have contributed to what would appear to be a blind acceptance by these Councils to the assertion by newly-formed NCP Services (now NSL) that it was “business as usual”. It appears that none of the Councils questioned so far has been able to provide written evidence of officially recognising NCP Services in March 2007 when it assumed responsibility for the enforcement contracts.
“Should it be proven that these contracts were in breach of procurement procedures then this must surely render PCN’s issued by NSL since 2007 void and unenforceable. As such, any Council unjustly enriched in this way should repatriate these funds immediately,” claimed veteran campaigner Neil Herron, who was forced to call in the Economic Crime Unit of Northumbria Police against Sunderland Council (attachment 2 download here), and who continues to spearhead investigations by private interested parties into all of the NCP contracting Councils. Lib/Dem MP, Norman Baker, is currently asking questions of East Sussex District Council and his own District Auditor.
Normally, incidents where a Council could be accused of unjust enrichment, an objection to the accounts could be made to the District Auditor, who has the power to declare an item of account “contrary to law”. In the case of WCC, Djanogly alleges that the fabrication of the date of a supposed “novation” was deliberately set prior to the end of the 2007/8 accounting period, now closed by the District Auditor effectively time-barring any such objections. However, at the meeting with the District Auditor when this revelation was made, it was also stressed by the District Auditor that any evidence of alleged Fraud or Misconduct must be handed to the Police.
Explaining why NTBPT got involved, Djanogly stated “WCC’s decision to become the first Council in Europe to introduce parking charges for motorcycles came with the assurance that it would be “Revenue-Neutral”, that is where revenue generated via its Pay-By-Phone contractor, Verrus UK merely covered implementation & enforcement costs. Disbelieving that a Council would spend-a-pound-to-make-a-pound, we investigated these “implementation” costs only to discover violations of EU procurement with regard to the awarding of that Pay-By-Phone contract. Notified that the EU Commissioners had been alerted by others, and encouraged that the OFT would consider a dossier we prepared (http://www.notobikeparkingtax.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/Demand-for-a-Public-Inquiry.pdf), we switched our attention to the enforcement aspect, following Mr Herron’s lead, and were not surprised to find the same individuals within WCC involved in this scandal”,
He then added: “Our suspicions of foul play were raised when, not only did it take WCC over 6 weeks to produce a copy of a Deed of Novation claimed to have been signed in March 2008, but that this transfer of the 3rd largest contract award by WCC was supposedly sanctioned by the same officer as involved in the suspect contract awards without either any delegated power to do so by the Council Cabinet Member, or involvement by the WCC internal Legal Department. Regardless of my position as Chairman of a Campaign group against WCC, it was my civic duty to take the evidence collected to the proper authority”.
So there you have it, but we would like your support again. What we would like you to do is to write to your local MP to ask if they will support you in your request for a proper in-depth investigation of Westminster City Councils’ behaviour and absolutely despicable conduct in trying to cover up their cosy contracts with big business.
It is only with your contribution that we can create such a public outcry of the shameful way that Westminster Council have behaved towards you the taxpayer that we will be able to force these long overdue investigations. After all, they like to watch us with CCTV, saying that if we have nothing to hide we shouldn’t complain, so now is you chance to turn the spotlight on them. We are asking you to do the very least you can do from the comfort of your keyboard, and that is to write to your local MP, present them with the facts we have published here, and tell us what they say.
Will they dare to pass this crime off as a local matter to you, what excuse will they make, please let us know. We want to know, are our elected representatives really working for us, or themselves?
If you don’t live in London this should still effect you, local Councils everywhere are looking at you as a cash cow. Westminster happens to be the lead Council, as trained by disgraced ex council leader Shirley Porter to be professional crooks, so they now think they can screw up your life style, are you going to let them? If this virus is not killed in Westminster now it will spread to your front door.
Nutsville believes there is an enormous fraud going on in Westminster and in many local councils throughout the UK, so now is the time to stamp this out. If you ride a scooter or a motorcycle this is your chance to pin down the person who’s elected to speak for you. Ask them what specific action they intend to take on your behalf. Whatever they say let us know, we will publish their responses, and we will cut through the bullshit replies.
It does make a difference, because if it didn’t why are Westminster Council one of our biggest visitors. They love us or maybe hate us, but many of their Councillors have us bookmarked in fear that we are going to write about them next, they just have to keep reading. But our MP’s are important, not the local wannbies at Westminster. Nutsville spoke to the alternative comedian Mark Thomas the other day, he said he must have spoken to around 200 MP’s, but only 6 of those were real people. So what’s your MP like, any good, lets find out?
Remember, bikers are voters (RAV), you are not second class citizens, and we hope you think like us.
We have had enough of paying the same taxes as everyone else, so why are we being constantly ignored?
To contact you local MP please use They Work For You website, we really want to know what MP’s think, and if they are really prepared to speak up and take action on behalf of their constituents, don’t let this cancer spread to your door step.
In yesterdays Evening Standard motoring reporter David Williams reported that Westminster Councils on-street parking enforcement contract has been awarded to Mouchel (View source). Since April fools day in 2003 NSL Services ran the contract in Westminster, although originally the contract was awarded to the then National Car Parks Group who became NCP Services Ltd., in March 2007. NCP Services Ltd., then changed their name to NSL Services Ltd., in April 2009. Questions surround the novation of the parking enforcement contract between the old and new companies, which Westminster Council claim took place in March 2008. It seems that Westminster Council believe they can backdate a novation to March 2007, other legal minds and other Local Councils may disagree with Westminster Council.
It’s been a very turbulent 18 months for both NSL Services and Westminster Council since the introduction of the on-street bike parking tax. The campaign group No To Bike Parking Taxes put their researchers on the case and dug up all sorts of facts that maybe both organisations would have preferred to remain away from the public eye. There has also been a steady stream of stories coming from both the mainstream and local media, often focusing on the practices of both the council and their enforcement company.
Westminsters move away from NSL Services is against the trend of its council neighbors Camden and Kensington & Chelsea, who have decided to extend their contracts with NSL. Some industry insiders are suggesting that NSL are being thrown out because Westminster Council needs a patsy to take the blame for all the cock-ups exposed in the recent past. Nutsville is not so sure that’s going to work, as it was Westminster who were putting the pressure on NSL to bring in parking tickets, so the blame ends with Westminster Council.
Already we see Westminsters spin machine at work coming out with a new softer approach initiative towards parking tickets starting next April. Can we believe this, well no, not if the councils track record of spin and deceit is the benchmark.
Maybe the parking industry agree, as Westminster Council have not even been nominated for one award at the 2010 British Parking Awards coming in March. That’s the second year running Westminster Parking have not made the grade. But the biggest headache for Westminster must be the £22 million budget overspend, and motorist becoming much wiser of the perils when parking in the borough of Westminster. So how are Westminster going to make up that deficit? Well the signs are already just over the horizon, with the recent proposal to increase parking charges, and extend controlled parking hours. But oh no, the local elections are only just round the corner in May, so the council won’t be announcing the bad news for motorist until after those elections. The council are saying a decision will not be made about increased parking charges until the summer. That will allow Westminster to conduct an open, transparent consultation process, just as they did for the bike tax, yeah right.
Dave Cox
But although it’s goodbye to NSL Services their exploits will still be featured on future Nutsville posts as the wheels are already in motion.
With such colourful NSL characters as Suzanne Hussey and Emma Collins to write about. And who could ever forget the chav-tastic Dave Cox who sweated his way through the Channel 4 documentary ‘Confessions of a traffic warden’.
We got to see more Ratners jewellery than Jimmy Savile has, that must have impressed those fresh off the boat immigrants.
Chav-tastic
So even though there’s a new company taking over the enforcement contract, the manure will still be flung out just the same from Westminsters parking department. Have a look at this clip of Westminsters Kevin Goad telling the tax payer just how it is, or is he?
Mr Goad says that in 2009 Westminster had 30% less parking tickets than they did four years ago. But statistics obtained from London Councils tell us that the the number of PCN’s issued in 2009 compared to 2005 show only a 0.42% decrease.
We nearly get our violin out when we hear Mr Goad telling us that Westminster hardly makes any money out of parking revenue once the likes of Verrus and NSL are paid off. Yet the councils own 2009 parking report states the Councils overall net surplus from parking was £34.4 million (view source).
