A roads company which overcharged taxpayers by almost £300,000 for work it didn’t carry out had its contract renewed by the Scottish Government.
As revealed by The Courier last summer, a consortium from Transport Scotland found “discrepancies” on road patching works in 54% of Bear Scotland sites they visited.
Under heavy questioning at Holyrood’s Public Audit Committee, however, it emerged officials extended the company’s responsibility for north west Scotland’s roads despite the failings found in Tayside.
Jenny Marra, the Dundee-based MSP who chairs the committee, asked officials: “Is that wise for the Scottish Government to extend a contract of a company that has a proven record of overcharging the Scottish taxpayer by hundreds of thousands of pounds?”
Donald Morrison, head of asset management and procurement at Transport Scotland, replied: “Obviously it would have been a different outcome if the outcome of the investigation had uncovered deliberate acts of overcharging. What it obviously uncovered was a process failure.”
Officials were pressed on why more public cash was given to a company forced to repay the £280,000 after “clear evidence…that Bear site staff have inaccurately recorded” what had been replaced when relaying surfaces “in direct contradiction of work actually undertaken” was found.
Liz Ditchburn, the Scottish Government’s director-general for economy, said: “Clearly the process failing that was found was completely unacceptable but things do happen.
“What the team has done is, on the back of really forensic, comprehensive investigation, has held a high bar to say: ‘Bear, you messed up here. You need to absolutely prove to us you are worthy of maintaining this contract’.”
She added they had “confidence” in Bear’s response.
Meanwhile, Ms Ditchburn also promised to investigate why details of whistleblowers were shared by the government agency to Bear Scotland, the company about whom serious allegations were being made.
The Courier uncovered the revelation last March but pressure from politicians finally prompted a promise of action.
Again pressed by Ms Marra on why Jonny Moran, then acting national network manager for trunk road and bus operations at Transport Scotland, let slip that Sean Toshney had highlighted a series of issues.
Ms Ditchburn said: “I think the information you are providing to us now is worthy of investigation. We will take this away and we will properly look at what the process was that we undertook and whether we handled that information appropriately.”
