Council chiefs in Dundee made no effort to find out how much residents were overcharged for a lucrative public contract at the centre of a corruption probe.
Leaders finally admitted earlier this year that they overpaid for a deal awarded to a company that treated senior staff to a luxury golf trip on the Spanish coast.
A series of investigations by The Courier uncovered head of construction Mark Ross attended the so-called “customer event” with colleague Kenny Muir.
The holiday was arranged by Edmundson Electrical just weeks after it was handed a deal worth more than £4 million to supply heat and smoke alarms.
The pair were charged by police under the Bribery Act but prosecutors dropped the cases last year citing “insufficient evidence”.
Bosses later confirmed a framework contract from Scotland Excel offered a cheaper price than the deal agreed with Edmundson Electrical.
But we can reveal the council made no effort to establish the extent of the extra costs to Dundee taxpayers – and has no plans to do so.
A slap in the face
A council source said there is a view that there is no need to find out how much money was wasted because there is no way for it to be returned.
But a local MSP insisted the authority must immediately establish how much has been “hoodwinked out of the budget” for services residents rely on.
North East Conservative Maurice Golden said: “As hardworking Dundonians face the prospect of even bigger council tax bills, this council’s refusal to even pretend it’s looking for best value for money is a slap in the face.
“I’m fairly certain people will want to know just how much has been hoodwinked out of the budget for emptying bins, cleaning streets and keeping bus routes open.
“The whole process of procurement here betrays a lack of care for public money bordering on the lackadaisical.”
High-handed arrogance
Labour MSP Michael Marra, a former Dundee councillor, called on bosses to commit to full transparency regardless of how “embarrassing” it may be.
He said: “This is another example of the high-handed arrogance that has run through this and so many other scandals that have hit Dundee City Council over the past few years.
“We know that public money has been wasted on this contract. It is simply unacceptable that the council is choosing, openly, to cover up the amount.”
He continued: “It may not be possible to turn back time and recover the money, but it is possible to try and stop these mistakes happening in the future and to rebuild public trust in the council.
“This will only happen with full transparency about the mistakes that have been made in the past.”
What does the council say?
We revealed at the time that no other companies were allowed to bid for the heat and smoke alarms contract, despite a number telling us they could have done it cheaper.
All of those involved have now left their council jobs and no officers involved in awarding the deal still work for the council.
A Dundee City Council spokesperson said: “A detailed report on this matter was considered by the scrutiny committee in April of this year.
“Unfortunately, it is not possible to calculate the exact amount of any overpayment.”
The council did not respond when asked to provide a broad estimate.
