Letter in the Manchester Evening News on Thursday 1st October…
Manchester City Council has just wasted fifty thousand pounds on a cliche-ridden report about a “new economic narrative,” with zero tender process.
At the last Economy Scrutiny Committee meeting the report, which is part of the Council’s effort to get more cash from Treasury, was presented to skeptical councillors, who pointed out that Treasury will be flooded with just these sorts of begging letters, most of them indistinguishable.
None of the councillors asked how much it had all cost to produce. We used the Freedom of Information Act and have now discovered that two consultancies got 26 and 23 thousand pounds respectively. Nice work if you can get it.
The council taxpayers and citizens of this city urgently need better scrutiny of Council decisions (including the white elephant money pit that is The Factory).
A seventh scrutiny committee, dedicated to climate change and the environment, would also free up time for more scrutiny of other scandals. Anyone who lives, works or studies within the City Council’s boundaries can sign our petition for it, which is on the City Council’s website.
