Is the Council allowing Veolia to defraud local ratepayers?

Updated: 8 Sept 2023 @ 10:31am

In our last post about the failure of Veolia to undertake street cleansing properly, are the Council allowing them to defraud the local ratepayer?

Sections 1 – 5 of the Fraud Act 2006 sets out what Fraud is, and given Report Number AuG/23/13 states at page 10 & 11 the following:

Evidence in the sampling highlighted that Veolia is closing jobs as complete when they have not been started. In doing so, Veolia is avoiding the cost of completing the work, and possible financial penalties for not being able to complete the job within the rectification period specified in the contract.

Section 3.3.4 (B) of the contract states that ‘The Contractor shall cleanse all areas covered by the Agreement so that they are Grade A standard’. Review of 1,474 inspections undertaken by Council inspection staff in the period January to April 2023 recorded most areas to be at Grade B or C meaning that while the Council is paying Veolia to cleanse the District to grade A, it is essentially only receiving a Grade B and, in some cases, only receiving a grade C. 

Despite the Council paying £85,285 pa for the cleansing of car parks, Veolia is failing to cleanse them in accordance with the requirements of the contract.

So lets look at this:

“Veolia is closing jobs as complete when they have not been started” – Is that not a breach of trust? 

Then add in:

In doing so, Veolia is avoiding the cost of completing the work, and possible financial penalties for not being able to complete the job

So under s5 of the Fraud Act, Veolia are making a possible financial gain, while the ratepayer and the council are making a loss. Veolia is avoiding completing the work, to Grade A, and they too are saying they’ve done the work which the report makes clear they haven’t; thus fulfilling, it would appear, the requirements as set out in s2 of the Fraud Act 2006. 

It’s clear in the report – “The Contractor shall cleanse all areas covered by the Agreement so that they are Grade A standard’, but are only cleaning to Grade B or C, so we are not getting what we are paying for and Veolia is escaping sanction.

Then there is:

Despite the Council paying £85,285 pa for the cleansing of car parks, Veolia is failing to cleanse them in accordance with the requirements of the contract.

So the Council is paying for something it is not in receiving, according to the audit report. Again there is a financial gain for Veolia and a financial loss for the Council and the ratepayer.

What will the Cabinet member responsible for Street Cleansing do? After all Cllr Jeremy Speakman (Green) (pictured)

“There are however some important lessons to take from the report as we strive to ensure that the appearance of the district’s public spaces and street scene is maintained to a high standard.

“I’m pleased this audit has highlighted what we need to do and we will work with our partners to ensure that the required improvements are put in place.”

Let’s not forget the report makes it clear the Green led council are not complying with the Environmental Protection Act 1990, which is ironic indeed

Now the Council won’t terminate the contract as the re-tendering would cause the Council one giant headache, no bins collected, no garden waste or food waste collected. None of this would be good on the streets of our beautiful district.  So what the Council need to do is, ensure Veolia fulfill its end of the contract as soon as possible, as at present,  the local ratepayer is not receiving value for money – economy, efficiency and effectiveness from the contract – according to the auditors report, and more besides so it suggests.

But as we so often say: we’ll leave you to decide if the new Green led Council are allowing Veolia to defraud the local ratepayer.

The Shepway Vox Team

Dissent is NOT a Crime