EXCLUSIVE: 36 More Pages of North West Regional Development Agency’s Contract With Wirral Council for Business Grants Program

EXCLUSIVE: 36 More Pages of North West Regional Development Agency’s Contract With Wirral Council for Business Grants Program

Continuing from yesterdays’ blog post of the first ninety pages of the North West Development Agency’s contract with Wirral Council, here are the next thirty-five pages. As European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) money was involved, these are the standard conditions of the European Regional Development Fund grant.

Page 91 – Cover Page (Standard Conditions of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Grant)
Page 92 – Contents Page (1)
Page 93 – Contents Page (2)
Page 94 – This states various facts about the European Funding
Page 95 – This starts the agreement with a list of definitions
Page 96 – This continues the definitions
Page 97 – This continues the definitions
Page 98 – This continues the definitions
Page 99 – This continues the definitions
Page 100 – This continues the definitions
Page 101 – This continues the definitions and starts a section on interpretation
Page 102 – This continues the section on interpretation and starts one on eligible expenditure
Page 103 – This continues the section on eligible expenditure, has one on the application and starts a section on grant claims
Page 104 – This continues the section on grant claims
Page 105 – This continues the section on grant claims
Page 106 – This has sections on the expenditure profile, has a section on decommitment of ERDF resources and starts a section on provisions related to the fixed assets and major assets
Page 107 – This continues the section on provisions related to fixed assets and major assets
Page 108 – This continues the section on provisions related to fixed assets and major assets and starts a section on material changes to the project and starts a section on legislation
Page 109 – This continues the section on legislation, has a section on publicity and starts a section on events of default and rights reserved for breach of the funding agreement
Page 110 – This continues the section on events of default and rights reserved for breach of the funding agreement
Page 111 – This continues the section on events of default and rights reserved for breach of the funding agreement and starts one on assignment or charging of the funding agreement
Page 112 – This continues the section on assignment or charging of the funding agreement and starts one on monitoring progress, tendering and notification
Page 113 – This continues the section on monitoring progress, tendering and notification
Page 114 – This continues the section on monitoring progress, tendering and notification and starts one on audit requirements
Page 115 – This continues the section on audit requirements
Page 116 – This continues the section on audit requirements
Page 117 – This continues the section on audit requirements
Page 118 – This continues the section on audit requirements and starts one on freedom of information
Page 119 – This continues the section on freedom of information and starts one on data protection
Page 120 – This continues the section on data protection
Page 121 – This continues the section on data protection and starts one on security requirements
Page 122 – This has a section on grant recipient warranties and starts a section on notices
Page 123 – This continues the section on notices and has sections on value added tax, good faith and cooperation, insurance, Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1998 and jurisdiction
Page 124 – This has a section entitled miscellaneous
Page 125 – This ends the miscellaneous section
Page 126 – This is the cover page for Annexure A

EXCLUSIVE: 90 Pages of North West Regional Development Agency’s Contract With Wirral Council for Business Grants Program

EXCLUSIVE: 90 Pages of North West Regional Development Agency’s Contract With Wirral Council for Business Grants Program

The astute among you will no doubt be aware that the North West Regional Development Agency was abolished last year, however I would guess that in its absence that its functions under the contract are now done by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills.

There is more to the contract than the first ninety pages, although the other pages can wait for another day. The contract between the North West Regional Development Agency and Wirral Council was for business grants and has been the subject of recent whistle blowing concerns.

Page 1 (this is just a cover page with the North West Regional Development Agency’s contact details on)

Page 2 (this is the first page dated 17th September 2009 stating it’s a grant funding arrangement between Wirral Council and the North West Regional Development Agency for business start-up)

Page 3 (this is an index page to the contract detailing various sections and page numbers)

Page 4 (this is the second index page to the contract detailing various sections and annexes)

Page 5 (this is the first page of the contract which details who it’s between, what it’s for and starts with a list of definitions of terms)

Page 6 (this continues the list of definitions of various terms in the contract)

Page 7 (this continues the list of definitions of various terms in the contract)

Page 8 (this continues the list of definitions of various terms in the contract)

Page 9 (this continues the list of definitions of various terms in the contract)

Page 10 (this continues the list of definitions of various terms in the contract)

Page 11 (this continues the list of definitions of various terms in the contract)

Page 12 (this continues the list of definitions of various terms in the contract)

Page 13 (this ends the list of definitions of various terms in the contract and details how certain references are to be interpreted)

Page 14 (this continues with how certain references are to be interpreted and starts to detail the roles of the North West Regional Development Agency and the accountable body)

Page 15 (this continues with detail as to the roles of the North West Regional Development Agency and the accountable body and goes on to representations and warranties)

Page 16 (this continues the representations and warranties)

Page 17 (this details conditions and what the accountable body’s obligations are)

Page 18 (this details when the contract will start, end and starts a section on consents)

Page 19 (this has sections on public procurement and the accountable body’s contractors and employees)

Page 20 (this has sections on onward liability, legislation, material alteration of the project and insurance)

Page 21 (this continues the section on insurance and has sections on reinstatement and notification by the accountable body)

Page 22 (this continues the section on notification and has sections on further assurance, good faith and co-operation and indemnity)

Page 23 (this continues the section on co-operation and indemnity and starts a section on monitoring of providers)

Page 24 (this has sections on provision of information by the accountable body and inspection and audit facilities)

Page 25 (this continues the section on inspection and audit facilities)

Page 26 (this has sections on maximum grant and conditions)

Page 27 (this continues the section on conditions and starts a section on repayment)

Page 28 (this continues the section on repayment and starts a section on review letter and variations)

Page 29 (this section is on events of default, remedies and termination)

Page 30 (this continues the section on events of default, remedies and termination)

Page 31 (this continues the section on events of default, remedies and termination)

Page 32 (this continues the section on events of default, remedies and termination and starts sections on novation, post completion and publicity)

Page 33 (this continues the section on publicity and has sections on North West Regional Development Agency logo & England Northwest’s brand and European Regional Development Fund funding)

Page 34 (this continues the section on European Regional Development Fund funding and has a section on intellectual property rights)

Page 35 (this continues the section on intellectual property rights and starts a section on reputation of the agency)

Page 36 (this continues the section on reputation of the agency and has sections on assignment and confidentiality)

Page 37 (this continues with the section on confidentiality and starts a section on Freedom of Information)

Page 38 (this continues the section on Freedom of Information and starts a section on Data Protection)

Page 39 (this continues the section on Data Protection and starts a section on default or termination of accountable body)

Page 40 (this has sections on status of accountable body, obligation to use CRM and notices)

Page 41 (this has sections on Value Added Tax, jurisdiction and miscellaneous)

Page 42 (this continues the miscellaneous section)

Page 43 (this continues the miscellaneous section and requires the accountable body to comply with obligations in the schedule)

Page 44 (this is the title page for Schedule 1 (Service Providers))

Page 45 (this is the start of the list of service providers)

Page 46 (this is the end of the list of service providers)

Page 47 (this is the title page for Schedule 2 (European Regional Development Fund Offer Letter))

Page 48 (this is page 1 of the European Regional Development Fund Offer Letter)

Page 49 (this is page 2 of the European Regional Development Fund Offer letter)

Page 50 (this is page 3 of the European Regional Development Fund Offer letter)

Page 51 (this is what the grant recipients had to sign)

Page 52 (this is the offer letter and acknowledgement (schedule 1 (project specific conditions) part A (General) and part B (Delivery Structure))

Page 53 (this continues the project specific conditions part B (Delivery Structure) and part C (Equality and Diversity))

Page 54 (this continues the section on part C (Equality and Diversity))

Page 55 (this continues the section on part C (Equality and Diversity) and has part D (Intellectual Property Rights))

Page 56 (this is Schedule 2 (Project Specific Eligible Expenditure) Part A (Eligible Revenue Expenditure) and Part B (Eligible Capital Expenditure))

Page 57 (this is the first of the tables referred to in part A on salaries)

Page 58 (this is the second of the tables referred to in part A on overheads)

Page 59 (this is the third of the tables referred to in part A on premises)

Page 60 (this is the fourth of the tables referred to in part A on fees)

Page 61 (this is the fifth of the tables referred to in part A on other revenue)

Page 62 (this is the cover page for Schedule 3 (the targets))

Page 63 (this is part 1 of the Monitoring and Evaluation plan for Business Start-ups Phase II)

Page 64 (this continues the Monitoring and Evaluation Plan detailing its role)

Page 65 (this continues the role of the Monitoring and Evaluation Plan)

Page 66 (this details a timetable for receipt of project monitoring, other reports and claims)

Page 67 (this details the timetable after 30th April 2013)

Page 68 (this continues the timetable after 30th April 2013)

Page 69 (this details what the quarterly progress monitoring reports are)

Page 70 (this details what details are to be in the quarterly monitoring reports)

Page 71 (this continues with the details about what’s to be included in the quarterly monitoring reports)

Page 72 (this continues with the details about what’s to be included in the quarterly monitoring reports and has a section on record keeping/verification)

Page 73 (this continues the section on section on record keeping/verification)

Page 74 (this continues the section on record keeping/verification)

Page 75 (this continues the section on record keeping/verification)

Page 76 (this continues the section on record keeping/verification)

Page 77 (this continues the section on record keeping/verification and has sections on risk & management and programme milestones)

Page 78 (this continues the section on programme milestones)

Page 79 (this page starts Part 2 (Evaluation Plan))

Page 80 (this continues the Evaluation Plan)

Page 81 (this details the sources of information)

Page 82 (this continues with the sources of information)

Page 83 (this continues with the sources of information)

Page 84 (this details which organisations the evaluation findings are disseminated to)

Page 85 (this is an annex containing an agenda for monitoring/audit meetings)

Page 86 (this is the cover page for the offer letter and acknowledgement (Schedule 4 (Expenditure Profile)))

Page 87 (this is annex 2.1 a project finances input sheet)

Page 88 (this is annex 2.2 detailing project finances by year in £thousands)

Page 89 (this is a table (continued at page 90) detailing expenditure by quarter)

Page 90 (this is the second part of the table started on page 89)

EXCLUSIVE: Million pound contract between Wirral Council and Enterprise Solutions (NW) Ltd for ISUS scheme was never signed

A blog post about the unsigned contract between Wirral Council and Enterprise Solutions (NW) Ltd for the ISUS (Intensive Startup Support) Scheme

Million pound contract between Wirral Council and Enterprise Solutions (NW) Ltd for ISUS scheme was never signed

                             

ISUS Contract Enterprise Solutions (NW Ltd) Page 1
ISUS Contract Enterprise Solutions (NW Ltd) Page 2
ISUS Contract Enterprise Solutions (NW Ltd) Page 3
ISUS Contract Enterprise Solutions (NW Ltd) Page 4
ISUS Contract Enterprise Solutions (NW Ltd) Page 5
ISUS Contract Enterprise Solutions (NW Ltd) Page 6
ISUS Contract Enterprise Solutions (NW Ltd) Page 7
ISUS Contract Enterprise Solutions (NW Ltd) Page 8
ISUS Contract Enterprise Solutions (NW Ltd) Page 9
ISUS Contract Enterprise Solutions (NW Ltd) Page 10
ISUS Contract Enterprise Solutions (NW Ltd) Page 11
ISUS Contract Enterprise Solutions (NW Ltd) Page 12
ISUS Contract Enterprise Solutions (NW Ltd) Page 13

In my previous post on a Freedom of Information Act request I made to Wirral Council I stated that it would be one of a series of blog posts on interrelated topics, this is the second on audit rights.

Each year (this year it was from 15th July to the 9th August as you can read from this notice published on Wirral Council’s website), anybody can inspect the accounts for Wirral Council for the previous financial year and any books, deeds, contracts, bills, vouchers and receipts. This is a right the public have enshrined in legislation. If this person is also someone who can vote in the Wirral area they also have a right to make objections to the auditor (which in Wirral Council’s case is Grant Thornton UK LLP (previously it was the Audit Commission)).

One of the areas I was interested in is to do with Nigel Hobro’s question to Cllr Phil Davies at the last Council meeting and the Grant Thornton report into the Business Investment Grants program. The end of Cllr Phil Davies’ answer to Mr. Hobro was “Errm however if it turns out that err others have been affected similarly since the report came to us I’m happy to ensure they’re properly investigated and indeed if there are any further evidence of wrongdoing or the irregularities of accountancy methods brought to my attention, then errm I am errm willing and indeed I make a commitment to refer those to others.”

On the 17th July I requested the following (using the above audit rights) “I’d also be interested to see and have a copy of any contract Wirral Council has with Enterprise Solutions (NW) Ltd” and on Tuesday afternoon (20th August) I was invited along to receive it (I’ve since scanned in and links to all of it are at the start of this blog post). It is for the ISUS (Intensive Startup Scheme) side of the business grants program and covers “awareness and development workshops”, monitoring the businesses that receive grants for three years after they receive grants at at least ten points over that three years and for “provision of specialist post start and aftercare adviser support”. Basically all pretty important things for Wirral Council to prove value for money for the taxpayer for these grants.

The contract states just under a million pounds of taxpayer’s money is involved and as a lot of records would rest with Enterprise Solutions (NW) Ltd requires them to supply information to do with the project including invoices, certificates, vouchers, books and records if required as well as keeping copies of documentation (and make them available for inspection) for seven years after the grants are awarded.

Section seventeen of the contract allows Wirral Council to vary the amount of grant payable, suspend payment of grant, withhold payment of grant or require Enterprise Solutions (NW) Ltd to repay some or all of the grant if the terms and conditions are breached at any time before three years after Wirral Council has last paid them the grant. It also requires Enterprise Solutions (NW) Ltd to if required to pay back money to Wirral Council to do so within fourteen days, otherwise interest at 3% above the base lending rate of NATWEST Bank plc will be charged.

However the most interesting bit of the contract is page ten. It’s not signed by Wirral Council or Enterprise Solutions (NW) Ltd. However invoices from Enterprise Solutions (NW) Ltd were paid and according to this Freedom of Information Act request Wirral Council also used Enterprise Solutions (NW) Ltd to produce business plans for organisations wanting to take over Council assets as part of the Community Asset Transfer program (in the request’s case New Brighton Community Centre).

In that FOI request the Council admits “there was no contract with Enterprise Solutions (NW) Ltd” and the fact that the one drafted between Wirral Council and Enterprise Solutions (NW) Ltd for the ISUS project (which according to the copy I’ve been given wasn’t signed by either party) how can Wirral Council prove it got value for money both to the public (and its auditor)?

Isn’t actually getting a signed contract in place, before you make any payments the kind of basic good governance that Wirral residents should expect from Wirral Council?

Is Cllr Davies’ commitment if he knows of “further wrongdoing” or “irregularities of accountancy methods” to “refer these to others” going to help matters? Referring the whistleblower’s concerns to Grant Thornton and Merseyside Police allowed Wirral Council to draw a veil over the matter and claim exemptions to legitimate questions asked by the public through Freedom of Information Act requests. Councillor Phil Davies is the Cabinet Member for Finance, he’s the elected politician at Wirral Council with democratic accountability to the public for financial matters. I clearly remember Cllr Davies saying last year that when he became leader that there would be more openness and transparency, not less.

Unless politicians (of all political persuasions) are willing to persistently ask difficult questions of senior officers at Wirral Council and put them on the spot during public meetings, instead preferring to be seen to be doing something by requesting reports (there’s the recent example of the case of the Grant Thornton report into the BIG scheme which was never published in full) I fear that all the talk about improved corporate governance and glowing peer reviews at Wirral Council won’t be believed by the public.