“And according to the people who really run the council – the senior officers – this report, even after it has been sanitised between the council’s HR department and the LGA, is to remain secret. Are you as a committee willing to condone this state of affairs? He said the committee should insist on seeing the “full, unsanitised draft report”. Otherwise it would confirm the scenario “that elected members are merely the glove puppets of the senior officers riding the local authority gravy train”.
The Local Government Association (LGA) was called in to review procurement at the council in the wake of controversy over how consultancy services were acquired in the past.
The LGA said procurement was held in high regard internally, with “many solid achievements” and delivering “good quality services”, but it was “subject to heightened scrutiny in York due to past internal control issues”.
“There remains a negative external perception of council procurement, including among members of the public,” said the report. “This negative perception needs to be addressed if the council is to secure public confidence in its procurement processes and the wider corporate governance arrangements.”
A previous audit report by Veritau in November 2016 focused on the appointment of a communications consultant and their associated company between 2013 and 2016. One particular chief officer, who no longer works for the council, was found to be mainly responsible for employing and making payments to the consultant and the company. These totalled more than £174,000.
The audit could find no material to back up claims contract procedures were followed. “At best this represents a failure to be transparent and to retain all relevant procurement documentation,” said the report. “However, it seems likely that there was a failure to follow proper procurement processes, including obtaining written quotations, ensuring sufficient potential suppliers were approached and agreeing a formal contract.”
The LGA review, carried out in June 2017, said it was “reassured to find that the council has a good corporate procurement function and that the compliance issues are being addressed”.
“However, as the council itself recognises, there is more to do in regard to procurement’s enabling role within the council’s developing commissioning framework and to address the residual negative perceptions of historical procurement issues.”
I find it somewhat ironic that the major political upheaval in York is over dodgy contracts worth £175,000. Halliday, courtesy of the ever benevolent Wirral Council Tax payer, will be bunged about £50k more than that as a result of his contract extension.
Wirralleaks 
I’ve no time for Cllr Waters but my enemy’s enemy is my friend here. Can’t see the Old Bill being involved though. They were called in by the C/Exec and found nothing criminal and that’s all the cops will be interested in. Halliday is an arrogant and hypocritical corner-cutter. I’d keep an eye on his paperwork whilst he is working in the wirral.
How do you know this Halliday chap do you drink in the same wine bars as him? Just because he’s good at his job and the incapablities of WC not being able to fulfil such a position you have to fund these expensive consultants to get the job done
I agree, I think Wirral should be proud to have such a chap of international fame. I do believe I have seen him singing in various bars in downtown Birkenhead. He is always applauded by the local clientele.
Hail to the French Elvis!
G’day Ex
Easier said than done.
They don’t sign contracts at wirral bc so no one is held accountable viz a viz Wirral “Funny” Bizz and their £2,000,000.00 knock off.
Original auditor on Wirral “Funny” Bizz goes missing and her boss Dave Garry re-writes a croc of shit report which is hidden until it sees daylight and he is paid off £38,000.00+.
They get friendly auditors to examine whistleblowing and they recommend the police and criminality viz a viz Wirral “Funny” Bizz, Lockwood Engineering et al and hide the report that cost £50,000.00+.
They take whistleblowers crime number and police say “no case to answer” viz a viz Wirral “Funny” Bizz.
They, Burgess and Adderley, stand and lie publicly at a public meeting into Wirral “Funny” Bizz, BIG, ISUS and Working Neighbourhoods.
“Phil the Very Very Very Very Very Slimy, elusive LYING, and Deluded Dill Davies” lies in the chamber viz a viz Wirral “Funny” Bizz.
Ooroo
James
They are allowed to do anything they want,
But I will continue to call Phil Davis and Kevin Adderley liars until something is done.
Got that Ecca?
Stay on their case Ex it is public money they abuse and abuse until the fat cows like “Missus Bilong The Pretend Friend Nurse Rat” and “The Chamber Potty Dogsbody” come home.
X
Essentially to those having experience of the Lga it is a busted flush.
Unfortunately to many the mere inclusion of the acronym LGA adds a unmerited gravity and authenticity.
Praise be to wirralleaks and M Cardin for debunking Lga to a widening audience.
I’m a bit slow / Why is he called frech elvis?
French Elvis even.
Oh do keep up. Johnny Halliday – pisspoor French imitation of the real thing.
I have it on reliable authority that North Yorkshire Police did not interview anyone pertaining to a possible corruption case in the Halliday/Goulden matter before deciding to take no further action.
They appear to have relied on such documentation as was furnished them by York City Council whose senior officers would have a vested interest in trying to prevent a possible criminal trial which could well have involved staff of a higher grade than Halliday.
As Councillor Mark Warters told the LGA representative, knowledgeable York City residents could well produce further detailed evidence to present to North Yorkshire Police which may stir them into action.
As Wirral Leaks states, we could well do with several Mark Warters clones on Wirral Council instead of the supine bunch who now inhabit the Council chamber and allow the lavishly rewarded senior staff to get away with one financial scandal after another; invariably to their own benefit.
G’day Chas
The cops went to interview “Highbrow” at his home.
They would not let me in.
Just sayin.
Ooroo
James
Stay at it Chasser I would hate people knowing I was an evil barstard like these evil barstards.
X
For a bit of balance, and background, the now departed Surjit Tour was a man haunted by his own demons who became increasingly desperate to know the identity of the true, dedicated, unpaid public servant(s) toiling in good faith at Leaky Towers.
So much so, he became a man obsessed, driven by a grim determination to “smoke ’em out” in the same way George Dubya sought to track down Osama Bin Laden inside his mountain fortress within the caves of the Tora Bora. The distinction being Dubya had the democratic backing of the American people to justify his actions (well, the first time around in 2001) whereas SRJ1T, after branding Wirral citizens “vexatious” – and experiencing the public ignominy of having these decisions officially overturned on multiple occasions – was exposed as flawed and incompetent, and was left deeply wounded.
As a broken, diminished figure, his only recourse now was to seek revenge by channelling lashings of public money into hideously misconceived court cases to fund a crazed personal campaign of vengeance through the courts.
The plan of attack being…
1 identify your suspect(s) ……………………(wrong person(s) identified)
2 target them ………………………………………(wrong person(s) targeted)
3 make them appear in person in court…..(fails when case(s) judged on the papers)
4 expose Lord and Lady Leaky, Verity and their foul-mouthed butler to the world “accidentally” inside official council documents, in the same way you’ve exposed council whistleblowers and complainants who have failed to toe the party line in the past…… (not applicable / failed)
5 “dodge” non-existent accountability for 4 above, rejoice, take the plaudits and any promotion or salary enhancement on offer……(not applicable / failed)
Mr Paul? I didn’t know all this about Sir Git thanks for that….there is so much dodginess to take in.
I do like to think that I spotted that he was dodgy though at a court case earlier this year ….it wasn’t just the highly vis and shiny clocker/wrist job that he wore… it was the polite/slight cough before the …..’I can’t recall’…. that’s what I spotted. (Don’t understand why the Wirral Judge didn’t spot the dodginess though) I guess the Aussie will know the answer to that one….
W.I.I.T.
Thank you for that background information.
What I find unforgivable, yet far too typical of the way Local Authority panjandrums operate, is that he has now moved on , or back, to Staffordshire who seem happy to accept a man who appears not only incompetent but deeply flawed.
The merry go around for bungling, substandard highly paid senior staff, which works in conjunction with the gravy train, appears endemic not just in Wirral but in many others local authorities across the country
Happy Halliday is a classic example.
It’s my understanding that Halliday was sacked from the DWP in the early 2000s.