A Peculiar Case of Folkestone & Hythe District Council’s Procurement Practices

Updated 14:05 on 19/02/2025

How Can Six Contracts Start, End, and Then Be Awarded? A Peculiar Case of Folkestone & Hythe District Council’s Procurement Practices

In a baffling turn of events, Folkestone & Hythe District Council has managed to initiate, complete, and only then formally award six contracts. This unusual sequence raises serious questions, yet again, about the Council’s adherence to its own procurement protocols.

Take, for instance, a contract with Capel Groundworks Ltd. The contract began on 24 March 2022 and concluded on 6 July 2022, yet it was officially awarded on 8 November 2024—a staggering 960 days after it had already commenced. This is not an isolated incident. In fact, in 2024 alone, 21 contracts were initiated before they were formally awarded, with a combined value of £271,416. And between June 2020 & Jan 2025, £961,352 worth of contracts began before they were formally awarded, according to the Council’s published contract register.

This practice directly contradicts the Council’s own constitution, which serves as its legal framework. According to the constitution, contracts cannot begin before they are officially awarded. However, the Council’s contract register reveals a blatant disregard for these rules, suggesting that the constitution is treated more as a suggestion than a binding document.

At the time these contracts started, Amandeep Khroud was the Monitoring officer for the Council, but she left the building back in Dec 2024. Now the job is down to the new Monitoring Officer, Ewan Green (pictured), who is also the Corporate Director for Strategy and Resources.

This is not the first time such irregularities have occurred under the leadership of Cllr Jim Martin (pictured) and his Green led administration. Despite repeated assurances from the Council that such practices would cease, the pattern persists, raising concerns about accountability and transparency in the Council’s procurement processes.

In December 2022, Report Number AuG/22/21 by the East Kent Audit Partnership identified significant governance issues concerning the key elements of the control environment for contracts, which were being disregarded. While raising this issue again is not new, it is important to highlight that in December 2022, the Council’s Chief Executive, Dr. Susan Priest (pictured), assured the Audit & Governance committee and the residents of the district that all staff would receive comprehensive training to address and resolve these issues effectively. But below is the evidence that shows for all the reassurances we were given by the Chief Executive, these issue still persist.

Below is a just a sample of the contracts in 2024; which began before they were awarded.

And below is a spreadsheet of all the contracts awarded after the contract had began. The sum total being £961,352

Contracts began before being awarded – Source FHDC Contract Register 18/02/2025

What this evidence shows is, the Peter Principle is alive and well at the Council. Three years after the Chief Executive said the matter of contract irregularities would be addressed the issues remain.

The inclusion of a entity in this blog post is not intended to suggest or imply that they have engaged in illegal or improper conduct.

The Shepway Vox Team

The Velvet Voices of Voxatiousness