Regulator: On Censoring Carillion Slowly! *

by Brian Bamford

YESTERDAY the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced that it intends to take further action against the failed outsourcer Carillion for 'misleading' shareholders with false information.

In a warning notice published the watchdog said that a number of senior executives were 'knowingly concerned' in numerous breaches of market rules, and had acted 'recklessly'

The FCA, had in fact issued warning notices to the company that 'certain previous executive directors' over a series of breaches of the financial rules before the business collapsed into administration in 2018 with liabilities of almost £7bn after a series of financial troubles caught up with the outsourcing giant.

This included giving 'false or misleading signals as to the value of its shares'; 'failing to take reasonable care to ensure that its announcements were not misleading, false or deceptive' and 'failing to take reasonable steps to establish and maintain adequate procedures, systems and controls'.

Yet the FCA has so far failed to as yet issue 'a financial penalty' or comment on possible sanctions against the guilty men et al or to even name the directors involved, because the case is ongoing. The FCA insisted that the warning notices were not final decisions and individuals might appeal against any decisions to its upper tribunal.

Meanwhile, Pro. Prem Sikka from Sheffield university and a member of the House of Lords, told the Financial Times: 'There are 30,000 small and medium-sized enterprises who have lost money, thousands of employees who have lost jobs and pension rights, and the regulator has taken two years to do little or virtually nothing.'

Carillion, which had 43,00 employees including 19,000 in the UK, was liquidated in January 2018 with £29m in cash and £7bn in liabilities, leaving the goverment to step in and pick up the pieces to ensure delivery of vital services including school meals and cleaning hospitals and prisons.

An inquiry into the collapse carried out by MPs described the collapse as 'a story of recklessness, hubris and greed', and said that the firm’s business model was 'a relentless dash for cash'.

For the individuals in question, the FCA has recourse to a number of additional penalties.

Carillion and the individuals in question will have 14 days to make representations to the Regulatory Decision Committee (RDC).

At the same time we can name some of the culprits because MPs haave demanded that Richard Adam, a former finance director, Richard Howson, a former chief executive, and Philip Green, a former chairman be held to account for their role in the biggest UK corporate failure in recent years. It is also the case that the Financial Reporting Council is investigating the conduct of Mr. Adams as well as another former Carillion finance director, Zafar Khan.

During their tenure, the company ran up debts and sold assets so that it could continue paying dividends to shareholders. It also paid 'performance-related bonusess to executives just months before its collapse' according the today's Financial Times.

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* SOME HISTORY OF THE CARILLION COLLAPSE

ON Tuesday 15 January 2019, Northern Voices reported: All Carillion's victims.

AFTER a year the fall of Carillion is still having consequences with many sub-contractors having lost huge amounts. Today in Construction News Rob Davies spoke with some of those affected to find out why:

In the aftermath of Carillion’s failure, there were concerns that its liquidation would lead to multiple collapses in the contractor’s supply chain.

Unite union criticises lack of action

Unite, Britain’s largest trade union, bemoaned a lack of action taken against former Carillion directors, who were accused by a committee of MPs of “recklessness, hubris and greed”, reiterating calls for a criminal investigation.

The Unite assistant general secretary, Gail Cartmail, said: 'It is staggering that a year after the biggest corporate failure in modern UK history the government has carried on as though it is business as normal.

'The fact that no one involved in Carillion has yet had any form of action taken against them, demonstrates either that the regulators are failing to do their jobs or that existing laws are too weak. If it is the latter then we need better, stronger laws.

'A year on from Carillion’s collapse the government needs to stop prevaricating and start taking effective action to drive bandit capitalism out of the UK.'

The government has introduced measures to make companies in charge of major public sector contracts draw up “living wills” to ensure the smooth operation of the services they provide in the event of financial failure.

But Unite said the measures did not go far enough to reform the system of public procurement. A spokeswoman for the Cabinet Office, which manages the outsourcing of public sector contracts and faced criticism over its role in the administration of the bust of Carillion, said the government had put in place measures to prevent a repeat.

She said: 'This government has taken great strides to improve how we work with the private sector, including requiring companies to demonstrate prompt payment to suppliers and piloting "living wills" for critical contracts, allowing contingency plans to be quickly put into place if needed.'

The accounting watchdog Financial Reporting Council (FRC), which was criticised by MPs for being 'chronically passive' over the audits of Carillion by firms including KPMG, is still investigating the circumstances of its failure.

New Bus Station in Ashton Hit By Structural Faults.

Tameside Interchange Ashton-under-Lyne

Four years ago, it was announced that the bus station in Ashton-under-Lyne, was to be demolished and replaced by a new Tameside Interchange bus station costing £33m. The new bus station was all part of the 'Vision Tameside' project dreamt up by the Labour controlled Tameside Council.

The new bus station was scheduled to open next month (August), but Northern Voices has been told that there are already serious problems with the building. Seemingly, the roof on the new building is leaking and the wrong floor has been laid within the building. Sources have also told  Northern Voices that the bus station is not big enough, being eight bays too short and that there are problems with reversing. 

Just over two years ago, Tameside Council's 'Vision Tameside' project was seriously imperilled following the collapse of the construction giant, Carillion. Despite warnings that Carillion was a serious risk, and that speculators were shorting Carillion shares, the Labour council under its leader Kieran Quinn, continued to award more contracts and work to the failing construction company. Critics accused the council of putting too many eggs in one basket which could potentially bring the council down along with Carillion and of deals done behind closed doors. 

'KITCHEN SINK!': Kier REPORT in the FT

'Kier investors get that sinking feeling as they smell another Carillion'

Editor:  BELOW is a report in the FT published yesterday

and written by Matthew Vincent:

FOR new chief executives, “kitchen sinking” is a business tactic — dishing all the dirt on a company’s falling profit, higher costs and rising debt in one go, in an early trading update. For contractor Kier, kitchen sinking is also a business in itself — fixing domestic plumbing for local authorities, housing associations and private landlords, in one visit, in “responsive repairs”.

In fact, its website features an employee with his hand up a kitchen U-bend. So it was perhaps not surprising that Kier’s chief of seven weeks, Andrew Davies, was also elbow-deep in unpleasantness on Monday: warning that a £40m plunge in profit would mean falling back into debt only months after a £265m fundraising.  Commentators quickly donned the rubber gloves. FT Alphaville called it a “massive kitchen sink profit warning . . . an Olympic sized-bath”. Stifel’s analyst saw it as “a clearing of the decks” if not the draining board. The Independent feared for the crockery: “If he is indulging in kitchen sinking . . . he’s playing a dangerous game”. But it is arguably far worse — because Mr Davies’ sink is so very small. He is only dumping £15m of bad news into it, which is the hit from accelerating his cost-cutting plans. All of the other £25m reduction in profit is from a circa-£250m collapse in revenue from Kier’s day-to-day highway, home maintenance and building operations, which he cannot manipulate with a pair of Marigolds.

If all £40m had been simply kitchen sinking, analysts and shareholders would have not held their noses.  Instead, Liberum downgraded its target share price for the second time in two weeks, from £6 to £4 to £3.20 — and it serves as Kier’s own broker. But investors felt £1.60 was the low water mark, giving the group a market value of only two times its revised earnings. Why? Because, if this is not kitchen sinking, it really stinks. It proves that all of the financial forecasts made at the time of last December’s rights issue — under previous chief Haydn Mursell — were wrong. How else could Kier raise a net £250m of new funds explicitly to strengthen its balance sheet but now warn of a return to net debt by its June 30 year-end? As Brewin Dolphin investment manager John Moore put it: “It has broken trust with investors, which does not bode well.

It also smells horribly like Carillion, the government contractor that collapsed in early 2018, after its debt spiralled as its working capital ran out.  Who would not be concerned when both Liberum and Peel Hunt, Kier’s other corporate broker, estimated a £30m to £40m working capital outflow this year? As Mr Moore added: “Comparisons will be made with the likes of Carillion and, indeed, Kier has lots of complex long-term contracts and individual subsidiaries, which makes for an opaque situation.” Kier is at least less murky than Carillion in three ways. First, it is not reliant on a few huge low-margin construction contracts — it has about 500, and 90 per cent of them are for £10m or less. Second, it is profitable — it will still make £130m this year; Carillion made billion-pound losses. Third, its chief is yet to roll up his sleeves on a new strategy — he will give details on July 30. However, if he cannot cut more costs, and dare not ask investors to back a second rights issue, his strategy will need to be much more straightforward than a kitchen sink U-bend: sell assets to pay down more debt — before investors, or lenders, pull the plug.  Woodford: For Sale sign?

Purplebricks, the struggling online-only estate agent, is trying to persuade reluctant home sellers that they will not have to “do it all themselves”, in TV adverts citing the support it offered to “Sarah and Dom”, “Neil and Glynis” and “Daisy and Chris”. But it seems there is one couple only too happy to arrange a Purplebricks deal entirely on their own: outgoing founders Michael and Kenny Bruce. On Monday, it was revealed that they had sold their respective 11 and 2 per cent stakes directly to Axel Springer, the German media group, which already had a 12.4 per cent shareholding. For Purplebricks’ new management, this DIY deal provides a clean break with the past — and a failed overseas strategy — as well as even more committed backer of digital businesses. For Axel Springer, the DIY deal provides a way to avoid an overhang of stock in the market, and to a send a message that it is doubling its bet on a share price recovery. But for crisis-hit fund manager Neil Woodford, it may provide something even more desperately needed: a buyer for his 29 per cent Purplebricks stake. On the day that the Woodford Equity Income fund had to suspend trading as it scrambles to sell assets and meet redemptions, the Springer deal creates a possible exit. It would now take only one phone call from Springer to Woodford to do a deal for the whole group. If only all estate agent conversations could be so simple.

matthew.vincent@ft.com

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Blacklisted Workers Win £1.9m from Building firms

OVER 50 trade unionists have won compensation totalling £1.9m after major construction firms admitted that they had been unlawfully blacklisted and denied work.

The compensation will be paid by the firms after they agreed out of court settlements with the workers, avoiding a high court trial that was due to start next month.

The latest round of payments means that in total, the firms have been forced in the last three years to pay compensation of £35m to more than 1,200 blacklisted workers.

The firms checked the files when individual workers applied for jobs. Those deemed by the firms to be troublemakers were refused work.  The workers were not told why they had been rejected. Some of them had raised health and safety concerns on building sites.

The files were housed in a nondescript office in Droitwich, Worcestershire, under the bland name of the Consulting Association.  A decade ago, following an article in the Guardian, the official watchdog, the Information Commissioner, raided the office and closed down the blacklist, declaring it illegal.

The Information Commissioner made the files available to the blacklisted workers, who then launched legal action.

The eight firms announced on Tuesday that their offers of compensation had been accepted by the latest group of 53 blacklisted workers. They are Sir Robert McAlpine, Balfour Beatty, Costain, Kier, Laing O’Rourke, Skanska UK, Vinci and Carillion.
  
The eight firms are locked in a dispute with Amec Foster Wheeler, as they argue it was involved in running the blacklist and should therefore pay a contribution towards the bill.
Unite had sought to force Cullum McAlpine, whom they consider to be a key architect of the blacklist, to give evidence at the trial, which was due to start on 4 June. The McAlpine director was also chairman of the Consulting Association when the blacklist was set up.

Howard Beckett of the Unite union said it was 'bitterly disappointing' that he would not be compelled to be cross-examined at the trial, which has been dropped as part of the settlements.

Police chiefs have admitted that they also supplied details of trade unionists to the blacklist in what they acknowledge was a 'potentially improper flow' of information.

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Interserve Deal to Dodge Carillion Dilemma

by Brian Bamford

DESPITE a deal with lenders on the principles of a debt for an equity rescue at INTERSERVE, a major shareholder has now called for a general meeting to dethrone several directors at Interserve, a major outsourcing company.    

Last December, Ben Chapman in the Independent, commenting on Interserve, wrote:
'The company has long had a close relationship with government and was a key contractor in post-war construction but it was in the 1990s privatisation and outsourcing boom that it morphed into the diversified beast that it is today.'

Coltrane Master Fund, which holds over 5% in the group, has now called for the general meeting with the aim of removing key directors: Glyn Barker, Mark Whiteling, Russell King, Anne Fahy, Nick Salmon, Gareth Edwards, Dougie Sutherland and Nicholas Pollard.

This is all rather worrying and reminisant of the Carillion melt-down, because a year ago after the collapse of Carillion, Construction Enquirer reported that:

'Beleaguered Interserve had some good news for the City this morning with confirmation of a five-year contract award worth £227m from the Department for Work and Pensions.

'Interserve will provide the DWP estate with mechanical, electrical and building maintenance.

'The company will also provide cleaning, catering, waste disposal, removal and secure destruction of confidential waste services to over 700 buildings throughout the UK, covering over 1.3 million square metres of space.' 

Today, Debbie White, the CEO of Interserve, has said:  'Agreeing the key commercial terms of the deleveraging plan with our lenders, bonding providers and Pension Trustee is a significant step forward in our plans to strengthen the balance sheet.'

White added:  'The board believes that this agreement will secure a strong future for Interserve. 
'This proposal has been achieved following a long period of intensive negotiation and has the support of our financial stakeholders and Government. 
'Its successful implementation is critical to the Interserve group’s future and all of its stakeholders.'

 Watch this space!

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CARILLION: Tale of Two Towns

ROCHDALE & TAMESIDE COUNCILS

LAST January, when it collapsed CARILLION had an ongoing contract with Rochdale council to provide around £17m in facilities management in a contract which required them to build a further 12 new schools.

At that time in a statement, Rochdale Council said: “We have been in discussions with key organisations since late in 2017, following the profits warning issued by Carillion. We have been preparing for such a possibility through the development of contingency plans.
"We are working closely with relevant schools to make sure disruption is avoided and we welcome the reassurance offered by the government today that public services will be protected.
"We recognise that this is a difficult and unsettling time for organisations working with the company and in particular for the employees of Carillion and offer our thanks for their continued commitment.”

Tameside schools

At the same time Tameside MBC which under its Labour controlled council had long been up the backside of the now disgraced company, Carillion, was involved in building five secondary schools - Isca, St Peters, St Lukes, St James and West Exe and all were completed by 2006.

But up to stage Carillion had also provided services including cleaning, catering, building and grounds maintenance for the PFI scheme.

A spokesman from Tameside council said:  
“At present we are in the business continuity phase and it is reassuring to be able to report that services provided by Carillion staff are operating as normal – all buildings are open for staff and the public, all school catering is in place and all ancillary services such as cleaning are operating.

“Tameside council and its partners in the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) are drawing up plans to ensure this remains the case going forward.

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All Carillion's victims

 & the risks of speaking up!

AFTER a year the fall of Carillion is still having consequences with many sub-contractors having lost huge amounts.  Today in Construction News Rob Davies spoke with some of those affected to find out why:

In the aftermath of Carillion’s failure, there were concerns that its liquidation would lead to multiple collapses in the contractor’s supply chain.

Rob Davis writes:
'Carillion’s construction arm was estimated to have liabilities of close to £7bn when it went bust last year; it owed £1.9bn to creditors at the end of 2016 according to its last published set of accounts. The contractor was known to have 30,000 suppliers.
'Publicly though, some of those worst affected sought to downplay their exposure to Carillion, with very few construction companies revealing their losses.
'But behind closed doors, clients and principal contractors were conducting wide-scale supply chain interrogations targeting partners they either knew of or suspected had worked with Carillion.'

Mr. Davis continues:
'Credit referencing agencies, used by businesses to assess the risk profile of potential suppliers, also went into overdrive, compiling lists of all the companies they believed could be next to go under.'

  Death knell reported by Construction News:

ANY company that was identified by more than one of these agencies struggled to get its payments insured beyond a week at a time.
 
Multiple contractors have told Construction News how they felt gagged from speaking out as a victim of Carillion both to clients and the wider public as doing so could effectively sound a death knell for their business.

Unions accuse Government of failing to learn lessons

Equally on the anniversary of Carillion's collapse trade unions have accused the government of failing to learn lessons from the collapse of Carillion, instead pumping even more money into outsourcing companies, a year on from the firm’s high-profile demise.

The lifetime value of outsourcing contracts awarded in 2017-18 “rocketed” by 53% from £62bn to £95bn in the past year, according to the GMB union, which pointed to nearly £2bn in contracts awarded to Capita and Interserve despite both issuing profit warnings.

The GMB said this showed a government “hell-bent” on privatisation, despite the warning signs given by the collapse of Carillion, which managed public sector contracts to provide services such as prison maintenance and school dinners.

Unite union critises lack of action

Unite, Britain’s largest trade union, bemoaned a lack of action taken against former Carillion directors, who were accused by a committee of MPs of “recklessness, hubris and greed”, reiterating calls for a criminal investigation.

The Unite assistant general secretary, Gail Cartmail, said: 'It is staggering that a year after the biggest corporate failure in modern UK history the government has carried on as though it is business as normal.

'The fact that no one involved in Carillion has yet had any form of action taken against them, demonstrates either that the regulators are failing to do their jobs or that existing laws are too weak.  If it is the latter then we need better, stronger laws.

 'A year on from Carillion’s collapse the government needs to stop prevaricating and start taking effective action to drive bandit capitalism out of the UK.'


The government has introduced measures to make companies in charge of major public sector contracts draw up “living wills” to ensure the smooth operation of the services they provide in the event of financial failure.

But Unite said the measures did not go far enough to reform the system of public procurement.
A spokeswoman for the Cabinet Office, which manages the outsourcing of public sector contracts and faced criticism over its role in the administration of the bust of Carillion, said the government had put in place measures to prevent a repeat.

She said:  'This government has taken great strides to improve how we work with the private sector, including requiring companies to demonstrate prompt payment to suppliers and piloting "living wills" for critical contracts, allowing contingency plans to be quickly put into place if needed.'

The accounting watchdog Financial Reporting Council (FRC), which was criticised by MPs for being 'chronically passive' over the audits of Carillion by firms including KPMG, is still investigating the circumstances of its failure.

The Insolvency Service, an arm of the department for business, energy and industrial strategy, is also investigating the affair and began interviewing former directors of the company last year.

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Dodgy Jobs & Precarious Employment

by Brian Bamford

AT the 5th Policy Conference of the Unite union last July, two motions were carried calling for campaigns to 'ensure that all workers employed on temporary, permanent, or fixed term contracts or through agencies should have their rights and protections from the first day of employment...'

These policy changes followed an incident at Bury MBC's waste depot at Bradley Fold last February*, in which an agency worker querying his own rights and status with the manager ended up in a altercation in which the manager got a black eye.  That agency worker had done 8-years on the bins in insecure employment; a binman at Rochdale MBC, we learn, had done 15-years in the same situation.

Other workers on the bins at the Bury Depot, believed that there was a cover-up about who struck the first blow.  The matter was reported to the police but later dropped.

Concern a year ago was triggered by the liquidation of Carillion in January, but after the dramatic event at Bradley Fold the Bury Unite Commercial Branch accused the Union of 'being asleep at the wheel'. 

Since the Bury Unite Branch issued a series of Freedom of Information requests about the goings on in Bury MBC with regard to agency workers, the bosses have started taking on staff on 6-month temporary contracts.   The worry is that the though the permanent staff on the bins in Bury are mainly in the union few, if any, of these temporary workers are.

What is now being demanded by the Unite union now is to establish that if a worker is under the control or direction of a company like Bury MBC, then that worker will be deemed to be an employee and enjoy all the rights that status infers.

Read more:  
* northernvoicesmag.blogspot.com/2018/09/lovely-black-eyes-agency-workers.htm

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Interserve & the 'living will'

by Brian Bamford

LAST February, the journalist for Forbes magazine Francis Coppola wrote: 

'Interserve is experiencing severe cash flow problems, mainly due to its waste management business on which it has been taking heavy losses for some time.  In 2016, it decided to exit from this business, and it is now taking on no more work in this sector.  But it is still running down a bunch of contracts on which cash outflows are significantly exceeding inflows.  Seeing these contracts through to completion is raising Interserve’s short-term borrowing requirement, forcing it to seek additional funding from banks.'

  

At that time there were suggestions that INTERSERVE may be another Carillion, which had collapsed in January.  Two days ago it was reported that Interserve has agreed to provide the government with a back-up plan or will to avoid a Carillion style carnage in event of it going under.

On Monday, David Lidington, minister for the Cabinet Office, announced that key government suppliers are being asked to draw up so-called 'living wills' to ensure public services continue without severe interruption after company failure.

It is worth noting that Interserve has offices in Tameside and in Rochdale on Livsey Street, where it manages healthcare appointments. 

Lasr week 'Building magazine' reported:  'Worries that Interserve could be facing more losses on another botched energy-from-waste scheme have sent its stock plummeting 30% since Friday.'

Construction Inquirer is now reporting that faced with the current problems a recent plan from Interserve is expected to include a debt for equity swap or rights issue, although the latter would be a challenge after recent share price falls.

Watch this space!

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Construction liquidations double up since 2016

CONSTRUCTION insolvencies have doubled in two years from 340 in the third quarter of 2016 to 677 in the third quarter of this year.

According to Tim Clark in Construction News today:  'The business analyst’s data (Dun & Bradstree) revealed that more firms collapsed between January and September this year than in the whole of 2015.'

The running total for 2018 is also just short of the 2,349 insolvencies recorded in the whole of 2017.

 In a statement Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) declared:   'Worryingly for the construction sector, confidence indicators are trending downwards, suggesting rising pessimism.'

 The analyst said survey respondents cited growing political uncertainty around Brexit and a ‘wait-and-see’ approach among clients as the main drags on activity.

The Federation of Master Builders chief executive Brian Berry said:  
'These figures are extremely worrying.
'We know that projects across the country are being stalled because there physically aren’t enough people to build them. In turn, wages are rising because of this increasing scarcity of skilled tradespeople.
'This coupled with the fact that material prices are continuing to soar has undoubtedly led to the margins of construction firms up and down the country being squeezed.'

Mark Robinson, Scape Group chief executive said:  'We should be concerned about these figures. SMEs are the lifeblood of the supply chain and their health is vital for the industry as a whole – we all benefit when they are doing well.
'The collapse of Carillion exposed the very real vulnerability of suppliers and, crucially, it brought to light major problems around payment, with some contractors waiting as long as 120 days.  Yet ten months on there is still a lot more to be done to ensure fair payment and contract practices.'
'Tier 1 contractors and public sector clients each have an important role to play in ensuring they are providing stability and certainty for their supply chains through fair payment practices. Scape is calling for all commissioning clients to ensure payments to Tier 1 contractors within 14 days, for contractors to pay Tier 2 suppliers within 19 days and Tier 3 suppliers within 23 days, improving upon the current requirements of the CSCPC Fair Payment Charter.
'With Brexit on the horizon, it is more important than ever to look after our suppliers and ensure we are fostering a system that supports SMEs wherever possible and is fit for the future.'

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Collapse of Carillion keenly felt in Tameside

by Brian Bamford
NORTHERN VOICES has covered story of the Carillion collapse extensively, and based on reports in the Financial Times and Construction News, had been warning of the dangers for the best part of a year before the collapse happened.  

The trade union body, Tameside Trade Union Council, had been asking for explanations of Tameside Metropolitan Council's close involvement and partnership with the backlisting  company Carillion since August 2011.  Reply came there none!

For years before the crisis the Labour leader of Tameside MBC, Kieran Quinn, continually ignored all the concerns expressed from Tameside Trade's Council and Northern Voices.  Indeed shortly before his sudden death he called for more collaboration.

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THE disastrous collapse of construction giant Carillion in January hit the headlines and sent shock waves throughout the country.

Building work ground to a halt across the country.

Sites were mothballed and the future of £1bn-worth of projects was placed in jeopardy.
Nowhere in Greater Manchester has the impact of the firm's demise been more keenly felt than in Tameside .

From CCTV upgrades and making public spaces safe from terror, to improved playgrounds and a proposed children’s home, a string of vital local services could all end up becoming collateral damage in the wake of Carillion’s downfall.

All face being sacrificed to foot the scandal’s unexpected bill.

The extra millions it has already cost to get projects back on track are set to have wide-reaching ramifications for the 220,000 people who live and work in the borough.

 https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/collapse-carillion-devastated-tameside-scandal-15263055

Should Tameside Council have gone to 'Specsavers' to prevent Carillion debacle?

The 'Rashomon effect' describes a situation when the same event is given contradictory interpretations by different individuals involved. It hinges on the idea of competing realities, the point of view that everything depends on your point view. In an age of post-truth and alternative facts, it seems particularly endemic amongst the political-class, where truth has fallen out of favour. But as the American sociologist and politician, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, once remarked: "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts."

In Tameside, Greater Manchester, the Labour controlled council  seem quite adept at presenting alternative facts and competing realities. For example, public services don't get closed, they get 'redesigned' or 'reconfigured'. 

In 2011 the council transferred jobs and services in two departments - 'estates' and 'facilities management', to the construction giant Carillion. The council told the public that the transfer of council employees to Carillion would "safeguard jobs and services and cut costs."  Councillor David Sweeton, the executive member for business and community development at the time of the transfer, said:

"This is a landmark decision for the council and will help to ensure that in future we can meet our savings targets, protects jobs and continue to deliver high quality value for money services....It's also important to stress that any staff transferring to the partnership (Tameside Investment Partnership) will have their pay, conditions, Trade Union and pension rights fully protected."

Apart from estate and management facilities, Carillion also provided school meals in Tameside and were responsible for building the new Shared Services Centre part of the 'Vision Tameside' development at cost of over £38m. They also sponsored two primary schools in Tameside and built other schools.

The council expected that the new service centre, the council HQ,  would be open for business in September 2018. But building work stopped in January of this year when Carillion went into liquidation. When Carillion went bump on Monday 15th January 2018, Tameside Council issued a statement stating that it was "business as usual" despite Carillion's troubles and the cessation of work on the new services centre building in Ashton-under-Lyne. Two weeks later, a Labour councillor, told me:

"It's a right mess. The council are negotiating with PWC the liquidator. They have to pay a fee for negotiating with their 16 sub-contractors and every phone call they make to them." As Carillion went into voluntary liquidation, the legal position, was that all former council employees who were transferred to Carillion, lost their TUPE protection. Many of the sub-contractors were also faced with losing money or going bust.

Although Tameside Council seemed to have been taken by surprise by the demise of Carillion, all the warning signs seem to have been there long ago. Certainly, the smart money appeared to know  that there was something wrong. In April 2016, Gazelle Pension Advisory Service, advisers to the trustees of the Carillion pension scheme, highlighted that city speculators were betting that Carillion was in trouble by short-selling Carillion shares - Blackstone, the private equity firm, made £40m. In May 2017, a final report warned that Carillion's debts had reached a level that meant it could not "counter material financial shocks or disappointments" and pointed out that its pensions deficit was now equivalent to the company's entire stock market value. Carillion issued a profit warning in July 2017, which sent shares tumbling 39% and led to the resignation of CEO Richard Howson. In 2016, Howson was paid £1.5m in pay and bonuses, when the company had debts of £900m and a stock-market  value of £61m. The pension fund with 28,000 members had a £990m deficit primarily because the firm had been diverting money to dividends and debt interest rather than into its retirement schemes.

When Carillion went bust in January, a Labour councillor told me that many councillor's were unaware of the details in the contracts between Carillion and Tameside Council because it was all done by a small group of people "behind closed doors." In August 2017, Tameside Tory leader John Bell, told Tameside Reporter journalist Nigel Pivaro that there had been a complete lack of scrutiny involving Tameside Council's relationship with Carillion. He told the newspaper:

"The problem with this deal is it cannot be monitored because there is no scrutiny committee holding it to account. Therefore there is no way to ensure we are getting value for money and Carillion are delivering efficiently. Where is the accountability? We are including back bench Labour councillors here, they do not know anything (more than the opposition). Due to a lack of transparency we get to know nothing."

While Cllr Bell asserts that most councillors were kept in the dark over the deal with Carillion, it isn't strictly true that there was no scrutiny. Minutes of a meeting of the 'Strategic Planning Capital Monitoring Panel' held on 13 March 2017 state:

"On a project of this size strong and focused project management is required, facilitated in this case through the Vision Tameside steering group chaired by councillor Jim Fitzpatrick, and internal working groups...The working group chaired by the First Deputy (finance and performance) continues to meet monthly to oversee the development and delivery of the project."

As regards 'Financial Risk' - 'Affordability', 'Value for Money', 'Control Procedures', 'Costs', 'Income from subletting space', all five categories mentioned in the report were given a risk status of RED!

In his article 'Survival of Carillion crucial for Tameside' (August 2017), Nigel Pivaro looked at whether the Carillion deal was giving value for money and cutting costs. He pointed out that some of the work done on schools by Carillion was found to be 'unsatisfactory or problematic'. Russell Scott school in Denton, built by Carillion, had been beset with problems including sewage back flow and a once serviceable playing field, had been deemed unfit for purpose. Carillion were said by the governors of the school to owe the school £100,000 for energy costs incurred during the building of the new school. The provision of school meals as provided by Carillion, had come in at 26 pence per unit more than central government gave to council's to provide them, and 90 schools across Tameside, were having to meet the shortfall. Pivaro highlighted how Carillion's share price had plummeted and referred to its debts and huge pension deficit and asked:

"What then would it mean for the borough of Tameside being so entwined with the company should the worst happen and Carillion go into liquidation...The dilemma for Tameside now is should it begin to divest itself from its exclusive relationships with Carillion and ask itself is it wise going forward to have all the council's eggs in one basket with one firm on whom it depends too much."

When the council was asked if they had a contingency plan in place if Carillion went bump, they declined to respond.

So incestuous was the relationship between TMBC and Carillion that Steven Pleasant, the CEO of Tameside Council, was also a Director of 'InspiredSpaces Tameside Ltd', a company set up by Carillion and its joint venture partners to deliver educational transformation through the 'Building Schools for the Future' programme. The council also had a 10% stake in InspiredSpaces Tameside Ltd.

Following the death of the former Labour council leader and postman, Kieran Quinn in December 2017, who had close links with Carillion and spoke very highly of the company's reputation (despite being aware that Carillion had been expelled from the Labour Party conference in Brighton in 2013, for blacklisting union construction workers), he was succeeded by former tobacco worker (the fag-end of the Labour Party) Brenda Warrington. Although Quinn was hailed as a 'visionary' at the time of his death - a month before the collapse of Carillion - by his fellow Labour cronies, the council have had to cough up another £9m from its useable reserves to get the 'Vision Tameside' development completed by another contractor, Robertson Construction Group.

While the Carillion deal overseen by Quinn and his cabinet colleague Brenda Warrington, doesn't seem to have cut costs, safeguarded jobs or delivered "high quality value for money services" as promised, we are now being told by Ms Warrington that 'swift action' by the council, has prevented a 'potentially disastrous situation' and the Vision Tameside development becoming a 'white elephant', in spite of being told in January, it was "business as usual." According to the Labour leader, the whole project will now cost £62.7m as compared with the £48,673,794 overall costs of the Vision Tameside programme in February 2015. 

Although the close relationship between Tameside  Council and Carillion turned into a fiasco that put the council at risk, it appears the council had no contingency plan in place in the event of Carillion its 'preferred developer' going bust. As the journalist Nigel Pivaro pointed out in 2017, "Without any plans there are fears that the borough could be beset with chaos and increased expense at filling the gaps left by Carillion." And yet, while some could see the impending demise of Carillion and that it was  likely to go bust, as it did in January 2018, the former 'visionary' Labour council leader Kieran Quinn, was arguing as late as September 2017 in 'Construction News', for a more direct and involved relationship with contractors because "it de-risks it for them." What seems obvious to many people, is the lack of vision on Tameside Council and the necessary foresight required to see and avoid impending disasters.

Dodging the Long Shadow of Carillion

by Brian Bamford

THIS week  Tom Fitzpatrick in Construction News wrote that there are indications of a 'split between those [companies] who are specialists in their field and making a proper [profit] margin, and those who are struggling with fragile balance sheets and highly leveraged business models.'

Of the top 100 contractors it seems that debt is concentrated among the UK's 10 largest building firms, with five of the top ten increasing their borrowing by £100 million or more in their last financial year,

True some of the smaller companies in the top 100 firm are wisely cuting shareholder dividends and shoring up their bank balances by storing extra cash.

This last may well be a response to the tubulance among the bigger firms. Not only Carillion went down, but sinificant building companies such including Lagan Construction Group and Lakesmere experienced financial collapse.

What the Carillion experience showed was that the numbers and figures auditors fed us can be misleading.  Having reported the largest pre-tax profit in the 2017 CN100, Carillion collapsed only months later.
 

Tom Fitzpatrick wrote in Construcion News on the 5th, September, 2018:  
'In a preview of 2018 published last December, I wrote: “Carillion aside, I can see 2018 being difficult for tier ones and would not be surprised to see a high-profile failure or two, perhaps among companies exposed to the commercial sector, or firms with non-UK parent groups shrinking their UK businesses”.'

Mr. Fitzpatrick continues:
'No one wants to see big companies go under. Whether you liked or loathed Carillion and what you’ve heard about their mismanagement on the pages of CN [Construction News], its collapse left a trail of destruction and forced good people out of work, apprenticeships and livelihoods.'

One possible candidate who some thought might go the way of Carillion was Interserve.  On the 17th, January, this year after Carillion went down, a report in the Financial Times revealed that the government is “worried” about Interserve (LSE: IRV) and has assigned a team of officials to monitor the company’s financial situation.

In January this year in the Guardian Neil Wilson, senior market analyst at ETX Capital, said Interserve had had its problems but was 'no Carillion.

He added:  'Comparisons with Carillon are all too easy to make of course – a diverse business operating on thin margins. It has faced pressure from employment and contract mobilisation costs and margin deterioration from a cost base which has not been flexible enough. It’s one of the most heavily shorted FTSE stocks and it has a lot of debt.
'However in the case of Interserve, the arithmetic doesn’t look anything like as bad as Carillion.' 

We'll just have to wait and see if there are any more tears before midnight.  

*******

Carillion's liquidators PwC charge a lot!

PRICE WATERHOUSE COOPER (PwC), the accountants dealing with the failed construction company Carillion affairs, have been claiming an average of £356 an hour for their services following Carillion’s collapse in January.

These figures were exposed in a letter to the Parliamentary enquiry into the firm’s demise.  It was revealed that the PwC accountants billed for £20.4m in fees during the first eight weeks of the insolvency.

Its total bill for this work is now expected to reach £50m.

Worst of all 'Pension specialist' partners from PwC were charging the highest rate at £1,156 an hour.

 Unite's assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail told the trade paper the Construction Enquirer: 'Unite is passionate about ensuring that all workers are paid the correct rate for the job, however for the thousands of workers who have lost their jobs due to Carillion’s collapse, these figures will be viewed as both eye watering and excessive.
'On average PwC staff will be earning in an hour what many of the workers who have had their lives turned upside down earned in a week.
'The government needs to introduce a realistic cap on what can be charged when accountants are brought in to mop up similar messes in the future.'

Carillion case shows crisis public interest auditing

 Four Auditors!

by Brian Bamford

WHEN Carillion collapsed in January this year, it brought into focus the Government's relations with major suppliers and showed how it impacts on vital public services in local communities such as Tameside MBC, which since at least 2011 had deveoped a partnership with the company.  

How could the decline of Carillion have been overlooked by Government, and the firm's auditors, when readers of the Financial Times, the markets and particulary those shorting its shares since May 2015, were well aware of what was happening?

On the 23 May 2018 the Select  Committee Chair, probing the Carillion case and the role of its auditors  Meg Hillier MP:said:'Government has become dependent on large contracts to deliver public projects and services.  Great secrecy surrounds them.   If a company providing a number of these contracts fails, this is bad news for service users and the taxpayer.........

'When a contract breaks down, Government is the provider of last resort.  While it did not bail out Carillion – the company went in liquidation – it did inherit responsibilities and costs, ultimately borne by taxpayers, that would otherwise not be met.
'Failure of essential services is not an option so we need to understand the potential risks to the taxpayer....'

Of the 'Big Four' auditors available three were already deeply implicated and involved doing Carillion's accounts with KPMG, which had been carrying out an external auditor for Carillion for 19-years, while Deloitte had carried out the internal audit, and EY had provided turnround advice before Carillion was declared insolvent last January.  

Thus, it was left to the auditors PwC, which despite earning £17 million in fees related to Carillion in the last 10-years, as the least compromised by a conflict of interest to handle the liquidation when the Official Reciever came calling for a special manager to do the job.

In the Financial Times John Plender wrote on the 19th, May:
'Overall, this quartet of accountancy behemoths (KPMG; Deoitte; EY and PwC) .collectively received £51.2 million for services to Carillion in the 10 years before the collapse, a further £1.7 million for work on the company's pension schemes and £14.3 million from government for work relating to contracts with Carillion.  small wonder the MPs concluded that this was a "cosy club incapable of providing the degree of independent challenge needed".'

Somehow, perhaps owing to vain expectations, the Government failed to grasp the the seriousness of the situation.  As the Select Committee Deputy Chair, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP pointed out lasr week:
'The Government’s RAG scale for Strategic Suppliers appears to be too slow and clunky. Profit warnings for Carillion were issued in July and September 2017 and yet a high-risk recommendation to Ministers was not made until 29 November 2017. The City, in contrast, knew well before July 2017 that Carillion was in trouble.
'Too many Government facilities contracts were concentrated in one large firm giving the impression that it was too big to fail, hence the perception that the Government would bail them out when push came to shove.
'The Carillion Board’s erroneous belief that the Government would not let the company collapse appears to have contributed to their failure to take the necessary action to save the company and prevent the sad loss of jobs and damage to numerous suppliers and subcontractors when Carillion went into liquidation.'
.
Even if the audit of Carillion by auditors KPLM in December 2016 was wildly over-optimistic and effectively valueless, it did show a company in trouble, and John Plender in the FT wrotes:  'I did not require a degree in accountacy to see that this tecnically insolvent company was paying more in dividends than it was generating in cash, while borrowing heavily, under-investing and sitting on a growing pension fund deficit.'

Investors who were selling Carillion shares short began to spot what was happening as early as  mid-2015.  The problem is that there is a reluctance to prosecute the auditors in these cases, as was demonstrated with the US attorney-general's decision in 2005 not to pursue a criminal prosecution of the auditors KPML over the sale of fraudulent tax products for fear of putting KPMG out of business.  The problem is that we are all now seemingly at the mercy of the global 'Big Four' auditing companies and the public interest audit function is suffering from a de facto 'too few to fail' regime.

******

Vintage Worx & Carillion - No Comparison!

 Ms. TRACY Powers mentioned below has an interest in Vintage Worx*.  She also shops at ASDA on the baked beans aisle.   Yet this interest in tinned beans doesn't prevent her from seizing the opportunity to promote the cause of her company Vintage Worx.  Especially when quisical characters like Carl Faulkner keep asking akward questions.

Hello Brian,

Was minding my own business when I was collared in Asda by Tracy Powers who had taken umbrage at the Northern Voices article, demanding to know “why have you got a problem with us?"  And why did I compare them to Carillion why are you telling people we are a private company and not a Community Development Trust etc etc etc

My response below.

regards

Carl

*****

Hello Tracy,

Further to our impromptu meeting close to the baked beans aisle in Asda.  I have read the Northern Voices blog and at no time do I mention Carillion. My quotes are clearly marked and highlighted. The article also goes on to state that :  “Vintage Worx describes itself as 'a community led not for profit organisation' registered at Companies House.”     Is that not a perfectly accurate description?

You said you had not read the blog, so I’ll accept that you have been very badly misinformed about its contents. It’s not hard to imagine the motives behind this misinformation. As I emphasised to you, the issue is transparency. Nothing I have been quoted as saying is either factually wrong or deviates from that core principle.

Regards

Carl 

http://northernvoicesmag.blogspot.co.uk/2018/04/seeking-facts-in-sea-of-obfuscation.html

*  Meet Vintage Worx Community Development Trust

Vintage Worx Community Development Trust (CDT) is a community led not for profit organisation dedicated to removing barriers to opportunities and committed to helping people maximise their talents and realise their full potential.
Based within Falinge Park, the local park of one of the most deprived areas of the country, the team of passionate volunteers who run Vintage worx have a nine year track record of successful engagement with the local community, a record that has only been possible through the sheer volume of community involvement in the projects, activities and events that are delivered.
Throughout the pages of this site you will gain an insight into the organisation and the people involved, find out about events, activities and services, learn about the history of our beloved park and be part of the journey we are about to embark on to make Falinge Park a true community park delivering wider social benefits to the area including taking part in community surveys and how to get involved.

Carillion & the auditing watchdog

THE accounting watchdog has launched an investigation into two former finance directors of collapsed construction and outsourcing giant Carillion.

Richard Adam and Zafar Khan are to be investigated over the company's financial statements for the years 2014, 2015 and 2016 as well as the first half of 2017, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said.

The FRC has powers to impose unlimited fines or ban members from professional accounting bodies.
It said its investigations would be undertaken 'as quickly and thoroughly as possible'.

Mr Adam was Carillion's finance director from 2007 until the end of 2016 and he was succeeded by Mr Khan, who held the post from January last year until September.

The FRC is already looking into the auditing of the company's financial statements by accountants KPMG.

Carillion collapsed in January with debts of £1.3bn, a pensions black hole estimated at up to £2.6bn and only £29m cash left on its balance sheet.


Mr Adam came under fire last month from MPs investigating the collapse amid revelations that he sold shares in the firm, raising almost £800,000, ahead of its demise.

Frank Field, chairman of the Work and Pensions Committee, accused him of "dumping" the stock at the first possible moment after his retirement in December 2016.

Mr Adam explained:  
'I sold the shares that I was eligible to sell when I was invited to do so by the company as I retired.

'More than half of the shares in the company that I had an interest in at retirement have been lost as a result of the company entering liquidation.'

******

Blacklist Support Group progress report:

Roy Benthan reports:

'Cheers for the heads up there Brian.  It [the Tameside MBC's broken model] looks like a carbon copy of our predicament here on Merseyside and i will be using your broken model when the time arises' 👍

Blacklist Support Group update - 6th March 2018. 

1. Model Blacklisting working group resolution which can be presented to all Constituency Labour Parties (CPL) passed at Liverpool Wavertree Constitutuency Labour Party last month. 

Model resolution (please amend as required):

This Constituency Labour Party notes Liverpool City Council’s ill-fated relationship with two of the most prolific Consulting Association blacklisters - namely Carillion and Laing O’Rourke, which has been brought into even sharper focus by the recent collapse of Carillion.

The CLP shares the Blacklist Support Group’s dismay that these rogue contractors have been securing public contracts within our city, thereby rendering the Cabinet's motion, passed in 2013, meaningless. It also contravenes the ethos of the document referred to as the 'Workers Charter'

The CLP therefore resolves to remind the Council that blacklisting was and still is an unacceptable practice, which cannot be condoned. We therefore urge that those companies who were members of the clandestine organisation, the Consulting Association, and any others found to be engaging in blacklisting, be removed forthwith from the approved list for future construction work procured by the Council.

Since these discredited contractors have continued to be awarded work in the city, this CLP calls for a working group to be set up, comprising two elected members of the Blacklist Support Group and the appropriate cabinet council members, to monitor this process of disengagement.

Roy Bentham, blacklisted carpenter from Liverpool and BSG joint secretary noted:

It’s a groundbreaking motion which sailed through a vote our CLP and it recognised the need for change within planning and the procurement processes. Carillion was a Grenfell moment within the construction industry and we can act as a vanguard against unethical companies with this resolution. 

The old model was broken and we need to face upto that.. Its now up to us fix it with the firm implementation of the workers charter. There can be no other way". 

http://www.left-horizons.co.uk/index.php?section=10&page=216

2. Spycops - Serious concern over ongoing delaying tactics at inquiry into undercover political policing 

http://campaignopposingpolicesurveillance.com/

http://campaignopposingpolicesurveillance.com/2018/02/14/which-justice-campaigns-spied-on/

3. Was my friend an undercover police officer? 

Shocking revelations here too

http://undercoverresearch.net/1260-2/

4. Mark Constantine introduced our session at the Lush Summit 2018 by saying, “Spycops is THE most important campaign in the UK today”

5. BSG out in force with banners and showing support for the Keep NHS public day on Saturday 3rd March and RMT train drivers strike too 

6. Big feature article on John McDonnell in the FT on Friday 1st March. Both joint secretary’s Dave Smith and Roy Bentham contributed to the article of one of our founder members. 

McDonnell lists his hobby in Who’s Who as “fermenting the downfall of capitalism”. 

"Our objectives are socialist. That means an irreversible shift in the balance of power and wealth in favour of working people,” he explains. 

Dave Smith, head of the Blacklist Support Group, says he would often encounter McDonnell at a picket at 6.30am:  “When no one else was prepared to talk to us he was there . . . representing working people fighting for justice.”

Royston Bentham, a blacklisted construction worker from Liverpool, says McDonnell sometimes visits Anfield:  “People come over all the time and shake his hand and chant his name in the pub . . . he has been through the bad times in the Labour Party and is now on the cusp of something big.”

https://amp.ft.com/content/d9c2b1be-1c10-11e8-aaca-4574d7dabfb6?__twitter_impression=true

7. BSG member Jack Fawbert scribes another brilliant piece on his Blacklisting experiences here 

http://www.left-horizons.co.uk/index.php?section=10&page=204

8. Mears dispute has been won by the brothers and sisters emphatically up in Manchester. 

We send our solidarity upto the Nw on a magnificent victory 

http://www.theconstructionindex.co.uk/news/view/mears-settles-manchester-dispute

9. And finally we stand shoulder to shoulder with our UCU comrades striking for pay and pensions in education and the Crossrail electricians in dispute with Balfour Beatty. They have our full support in their struggles.. 

http://shopstewards.net/2018/02/4802/

In solidarity 

Roy Bentham  

Who actually owns the new Royal hospital now?

Carillion collapse has delayed flagship project again

by

Alistair Houghton 12:23, 28 JAN 2018

CARILLION’s collapse has delayed the opening of the Royal Liverpool Hospital and plunged its future into uncertainty – but who actually owns the unfinished hospital complex?
Troubled building giant Carillion went into liquidation earlier this month after struggling with £900m in debts and a £590m pension deficit.
Carillion’s collapse has focused attention on controversial PFI deals, where building work on public projects is outsourced.
Many critics say such deals offer bad value for money and Labour has said it will reassess such deals if it wins power.
PFI deals have also been criticised for lacking accountability. The official handover of the hospital had already been delayed three times by Carillion, with even Royal boss Aidan Kehoe left unsure when it would be finished.


In the House of Commons last week Liverpool Riverside MP Louise Ellman , whose constituency includes the hospital, said: “I appreciate that this is a private sector collapse, but there are major questions for the government and regulatory bodies to answer. This is about public services!”
The hospital is being delivered by the Hospital Company (Liverpool), which in turn hired Carillion. The company is now working with PWC, which is managing Carillion’s liquidation, to decide what happens next.
Royal bosses say the hospital will be completed because the Hospital Company has a range of contingency plans available, including the ability to terminate existing contracts and to hire a new builder. The company also has access to insurance funds to help it finish the work .


The company will report to the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust board this week.
But while those contractual complexities have still to be ironed out, Liverpool residents may at least be relieved to know that the hospital building itself IS owned by the NHS.
The Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust owns the new Royal in the same way a homeowner paying a mortgage owns their house.


The Hospital Company (Liverpool) has securities over the building, just as a bank would have securities on a house for which it had given a mortgage.
But the building is owned by the trust – and when the trust has made all its payments, then it will own the hospital outright with no conditions.


The trust had to repay the fixed £335m cost for the hospital over 30 years. Those payments were due to start last year, when the hospital was originally to be handed over.
But the trust does not have to start making its annual payments until the hospital is handed over and an independent tester agrees the building is complete.
The trust explained this month: “ So while this handover is deferred the overall cost to the Trust will be less.”

'Free Lunches' to School Meals in Tameside

 IN last Wednesday's Guardian, the writer, Tamasin Cave in an article titled 'Find out if your councillor is being wined and dined' wrote:  'The timeless practice of "gastronomic pimping", as Nye Bevan puts it, is a tool long used by commercial lobbyists to curry favour.'   

'These "meetings" are,' she says 'deliberately designed to create bonds, establish shared values and ultimately influence [local] council decisions.'

One must wonder if the recently deceased Councillor Kieran Quinn, who as boss of Tameside Council and chair of Greater Manchester Pension Fund [GMPF], was aware of this when he cosied-up so close to to the outsourcing company Carillion over the last decade?

Afterall, Councillor Quinn, who died suddenly last Christmas, told Construction News only last September:
'One of my pleasures of acting as GMPF chairman is using workers’ money to invest in the city they work in, and [he promised] there will be plenty more investment to come'

Today, after the collapse of Carillion, that now sounds like throwing good money after bad.

Tameside Councillor Quinn last September boasted to the Construction News' journalist Charlie Schouten, that he was actively encouraging closer associations between 'London-based businesses..... [because] they like talking to people like us; they see an opportunity here,' and forming partnerships with people like him.

This was an eloquent appeal by Councillor Quinn for greater public embroilment with big business, yet remember dear reader, it was delivered just after Carillion had issued a profit warning in July 2017.  Was Councillor Quinn trying to bailed-out the troubled company Carillion with public funds so as to cover up his own misplaced historic investment strategy?   Was he calling on the Town Council cavalry in Greater Manchester to rescue a company he realised was already on death row?

After all, he did say that 'If they [companies like Carillion] can come into partnership with us, it de-risks it for them.'

What did Tameside's Councillor Quinn mean by 'it de-risks it for them'?

In her article in last Wednesday's Guardian, Tamasin Cave, tellingly writes:
'One of the surest ways to access and influence the officials you seek to influence is to employ people who know local government inside out.  Councillors up and down the country are employed in the property lobbying business.  They are elected to represent the public interest and at the same time employed by developers seeking to influence the public sphere.'

In the case of Councillor Kieran Quinn and Tameside Council, it seems that Carillion didn't have have to do much lobbying with free lunches to gain influence.  Indeed, when it came to Councillor Quinn and his Council cronies, it seems they were not simply playing footsie under the table but were positively spreading their legs before the construction giant.

As I write this, there are I understand there have two Freedom of Information requests asking about a Tameside Council officer, who may or may not, have been made a director to Carillion. 

'What do developers want from their relationships [with Councillors]?', asks Ms. Cave.

Well in the case of the Carillion / Quinn liaison it amounted to contracts, partnerships and networking facilities.  But it could also in some cases, as Ms. Cave says, amount to help with 'straightforward planning permission; or relief from paying tax used to fund local amenities; or an agreement with the council on the amount of affordable homes the developer has, or doesn't have, to provide.  All of which can be negotiated by the councils upon which such lavish hospitality is poured.'

The one-time chairman of Westminster Council's planning committee Robert Davis was, according to Ms. Cave, 'entertained 150 times by property industry figures in three years'..

Meanwhile, it seems a firm called OCS https://www.ocs.com/uk/services/catering/hospital-and-healthcare-catering/  that was brought to deliver a school meals' contract at Tameside MBC after the departure of Carillion, has now pulled out.    

 There'll be no 'gastronomic pimping' in the school canteens in Tameside.