Anomalies in SDC’s Company Oportunitas

Oportunitas Ltd  is a company solely owned by SDC. The Council has created this company to help promote new employment and housing opportunities across Shepway, so it says on its website. However, there appear to be significant anomalies, with payments and a discrepancy that one of the Cllrs who sits as a director, is not even registered as a director at all.

The following Councillors are Directors of the company and as such get an allowance, plus mileage to and from any meeting. The Oportunitas Board comprises four Directors who also sit as Cllrs:

The Board

Councillor Richard Pascoe – Chairman
Councillor Ann Berry – Director
Councillor Roger Wilkins – Director
Councillor Susie Govett – Director

However, there appears to be some significant anomalies.

No 1 – Cllr Roger Wilkins (below) is not registered at Companies House as a Director of the company as of 11/07/16.

now we are not saying that Cllr Wilkins is getting money for nothing, but this is currently how it appears. It is possible SDC have made a mistake,. Or Companies house. Cllr Wilkins could end up looking like he has done something wrong when in fact he probably hasn’t. So who is at fault?

 No 2. If you look at the Cllrs expenses and Oportunitas info below, you’ll see that 7 people were paid in the 3rd quarter, but only the names of Cllr Govett, Cllr Berry and Cllr Wilkins appear on the sheets.

No.3 Cllr Richard Pascoe, name does not appear on the Oportunitas Paperwork, but the other three Cllrs do, nor do the following sums paid to him, £1008.78, £2,650.76.

The figures in the Cllrs expenses make it clear all four Cllrs received the total sum of £8144.84 between them. The Oportunitas Ltd paperwork (below) does not agree with that sum. In fact on pages 10, 11, and 13, it shows that more than four people were paid. Why might this be?

These anomalies need to be explained by SDC, oh and can someone at SDC get Cllr Wilkins registered on companies house, as we suspect this faux pas is not of his making, yet potentially casts the genial Cllr in a bad light.

Cllr Allowances and Oportunitas Info

If it is sloppiness by SDC, then someone should get a real talking to. It is not right that an Innocent Cllr could end up looking like the guilty party.

Shepwayvox