Wirral Satellite Cars (who have recently merged with Argyle Taxis to become Argyle Satellite) won the the contract to supply taxi journeys to councillors which started on the 1st September 2017. Major parts of the new contract have also been redacted on grounds of commercial confidentiality.
These are for taxi journeys by Cllr Moira McLaughlin, former Cllr Steve Niblock, Cllr Tony Norbury, Cllr Irene Williams, Cllr Warren Ward, Cllr Stuart Whittingham, Cllr Phil Davies and Cllr George Davies.
Wirral Council has decided to redact from these invoices, the name of the Wirral Council employee that these invoices went to and the mobile telephone number for Eye Cab limited. Some of the start points and end points of these taxi journeys have also been redacted by Wirral Council who deem it to be unfair processing of personal data for the public to know the home addresses of councillors!
One matter that does stand out are two taxi journeys made on the 5th July 2016 and the 7th July 2016 costing £83.60 each (as Wirral Council received an invoice each time for a 70 mile round trip rather than just the mileage between points A and B). Both journeys are shown on the invoice as being related to Cllr Phil Davies and both relate to taxi journeys to Manchester Airport.
Wirral Council have pointed out that Cllr Phil Davies shared the taxi journey with the Deputy Leader of the Council Cllr George Davies and the purpose of it was travel to and from the LGA Conference held in Bournemouth between the 5th and 7th of July 2016.
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How are 275 invoices connected to Wirral Council’s plans to change food waste and green bin collections?
How are 275 invoices connected to Wirral Council’s plans to change food waste and green bin collections?
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Wirral Council have the legal responsibility for collecting rubbish from households on the Wirral (which they do through a contract with Biffa), but Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority then deal with what to do with the rubbish (and charge a levy to Wirral Council and other local councils).
Earlier this year, during the 30 working day period when you can do so, I requested copies of 275 invoices paid by Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority over the last financial year (2016-17).
Out of the invoices supplied electronically, one was missing and one was a duplicate. I flagged this up with Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority and have since been supplied with the correct invoices.
This is invoice 186 (that was missing originally from what I was sent).
This is invoice 67 (that was originally duplicated with a different invoice already supplied.
The invoices are supplied in batches of fifty due to file size limits on emails. One of the invoices is for MWDA’s share for this study by Local Partnerships which included Wirral. At Wirral Council’s Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee last month it was stated that changes to Wirral’s waste collection were on hold while a regional study was being finished.
What is in 13 Merseytravel/Liverpool City Region Combined Authority contracts and hundreds of pages of invoices relating to the 15/16 financial year?
What is in 13 Merseytravel/Liverpool City Region Combined Authority contracts and hundreds of pages of invoices relating to the 15/16 financial year?
Councillor Steve Foulkes (Labour) (right) speaking at a recent meeting of the Birkenhead Constituency Committee (28th July 2016) | Councillor Pat Cleary (Green) (left) listens. Cllr Steve Foulkes is Merseytravel’s Lead Councillor for Finance and Strategy.
Merseytravel and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority were the last public body to respond to my request to inspect and receive copies during the 30 working day period which was originally supposed to run starting on the 1st July 2016.
This was interesting as the 30 working day period isn’t allowed to start until the public notice is published!
However the FOI request went to an internal review and Julie Watling of Merseytravel responded on the 11th August stating that, “However I had been mistakenly informed that the information was not on the website, when in fact it was available at the following links:-”
But then, is it reasonable to expect an organisation to know what’s published on its own website and to answer Freedom of Information Act requests accurately or am I asking too much?
Which is the correct answer?
However the information (or to be more accurate part of the information) I requested arrived in the post yesterday (postage around £6.20 as it was special delivery guaranteed by 1pm) with a covering letter from a trainee solicitor and DVD.
Below is what was on the DVD. I did get a further email yesterday with a contract that had been mistakenly left off the DVD too.
Although the internal review clears up the issue about the public notice on Merseytravel’s website, for the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority it should’ve been published on the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority’s website, not Merseytravel’s.
So part of my objection I sent to the auditors yesterday still stands.
The invoices are split by the thirteen accounting periods that Merseytravel used during the 2015 2016 financial year, although why spoil the surprise when you can read for yourself below?
There are some interesting matters to be gleaned from the invoices and contracts, however I don’t have the time at present to blog about them in detail.
Invoices 2015 to 2016 financial year (Merseytravel and Liverpool City Region Combined Authority).
What are 10 invoices paid by Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority totalling £4,758,470.23 for?
What are 10 invoices paid by Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority totalling £4,758,470.23 for?
Below are ten A4 images of invoices I requested during the 2015-16 audit of Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority (that goes by the name of Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority).
They are in order from Mersey Waste Holdings Ltd, Veolia ES Merseyside & Halton Limited, FCC Recycling (UK) Limited, Wirral Council, JLT Speciality Limited and Liverpool City Council.
Some are for payments made to do with contracts, the one with Wirral Council is to do with a loan (MRDF stands for Merseyside Residual Debt Fund which MWDA’s share of the former Merseyside County Council’s debts), insurance and business rates to Liverpool City Council for the Gilmoss Waste Transfer Station in Stonebridge Lane.
Amounts for these invoices are for £2,136,797.83, £1,253,141.93, £650,990.21, £472,906.96, £182,600, £37,741.30 and £24,892 (total £4,758,470.23).
I will point however that the costs of dealing with waste on these invoices is at the county level of Merseyside (possibly with Halton added too). Wirral Council’s share will be a fraction of what the total costs are).
Matters involving the current consultation by Wirral Council on food waste and changes to the green bin collection were recently the subject of a call in public meeting (26th July 2016) when opposition councillors requested that the Cabinet decision be reviewed. You can watch footage from that meeting below which discusses the proposed changes to the green bin collections and proposed new food waste collection.
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Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Wirral Council) 26th July 2016 Call in of Cabinet decision on consultation on green bins and food waste
0 Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority Mersey Waste Holdings Ltd £2136797.83 Landfill Services Contract Page 1 of 1 February 20151 Veolia ES Merseyside and Halton Limited £1253141 93 Waste Management and Recycling Contract Page 1 of 2 March 20152 Veolia ES Merseyside and Halton Limited £1253141.93 Waste Management and Recycling Contract Page 2 of 2 March 20153 Veolia ES Merseyside and Halton Limited £6509901.21 Waste Management and Recycling Contract Page 1 of 2 February 2015 min4 Veolia ES Merseyside and Halton Limited £6509901.21 Waste Management and Recycling Contract Page 2 of 2 February 20155 FCC Recycling (UK) Limited £472906.96 Interim Waste Services Management Agreement Page 1 of 1 February 20156 Wirral Council £182600 MRDF 2nd instalment 14 15 Page 1 of 17 JLT Speciality Limited £37741.30 Comined Liability Insurance Page 1 of 18 Liverpool City Council £248965 non domestic rates Gilmoss Waste Transfer Station Page 1 of 29 Liverpool City Council £248965 non domestic rates Gilmoss Waste Transfer Station Page 2 of 2
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Why was Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service’s Kieran Timmins (former Deputy Chief Executive/Treasurer and in charge of the Saughall Massie fire station plans in 2014 & 2015) paid £144,500 for “compensation for loss of office” when he was made redundant in 2015?
Why was Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service’s Kieran Timmins (former Deputy Chief Executive/Treasurer and in charge of the Saughall Massie fire station plans in 2014 & 2015) paid £144,500 for “compensation for loss of office” when he was made redundant in 2015?
Kieran Timmins (former Deputy Chief Executive, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service) taken in 2014
The author of this piece is an Appellant in a First-tier-Tribunal (Information Rights) case in which Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority is the Second Respondent.
Below are three invoices (for £3,000 each consisting of £2,500 + VAT so £9,000 in total) from a Todd and Ledson LLP to Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service for the Saughall Massie fire station project.
Invoice £3000 Todd and Ledson LLP Merseyside Fire and Rescue Services Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority 30th December 2015 Saughall Massie Pre Contract Professional feesInvoice £3000 Todd and Ledson LLP Merseyside Fire and Rescue Services Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority 30th September 2015 Saughall Massie Pre Contract Professional feesInvoice £3000 Todd and Ledson LLP Merseyside Fire and Rescue Services Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority 31st August 2015 Saughall Massie Pre Contract Professional fees
Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (on behalf of Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority) have submitted two planning applications associated with this project.
The most recent dated 20th July 2016 is for a screening opinion which if I’m correct Wirral Council as Local Planning Authority have to make a decision on within 3 weeks of the application, this is SCR/16/00994.
The related planning application to the above submitted on the 15th July 2015 is APP/16/00985 which is described as, “A single storey two bay community fire station incorporating operational and welfare accommodation, offices and meeting space, external drill and training facilities and associated car-parking. | Land adjacent to SAUGHALL MASSIE ROAD, SAUGHALL MASSIE ”.
The land is currently owned by Wirral Council, who are constructing a Youth Zone on land next to Birkenhead Fire Station.
Below are two invoices to Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service from their solicitors Weightmans LLP connected to that.
Invoice £660.00 Weightmans LLP Transfer of land at Birkenhead Fire Station to Wirral Council 28th September 2015 Clive BleasedaleInvoice £697.20 Weightmans LLP Transfer of land at Birkenhead Fire Station to Wirral Council 26th October 2015 Clive Bleasedale
Although at one stage a “land swap” was suggested by former Deputy Chief Executive of Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service Kieran Timmins (that is a swap of the land held by Wirral Council for the land adjacent to Birkenhead Fire Station), Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service state that no such land swap with Wirral Council was agreed follow Mr Timmins’ proposal. In an event Mr Timmins left the employment of Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service in 2015 having been made redundant and he received £144,500 in redundancy payment in compensation (see note 30 to the accounts (Officers’ Remuneration) on page 66 of the 2015-16 accounts for Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority).
The officer at Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service in charge of land matters following Mr. Timmins’ departure from the organisation in August 2015 is Deputy Chief Fire Officer Phil Garrigan.
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