Houchen again.

Tricky area this.

Are you giving contracts to companies because they give you donations, or are you giving contracts to companies because you know them, trust them to do a good job and those companies give a donation as a thank you, or even because they genuinely think the mayor is the best for the region?

And does it even matter if both deliver for the public?
 
Tricky area this.

Are you giving contracts to companies because they give you donations, or are you giving contracts to companies because you know them, trust them to do a good job and those companies give a donation as a thank you, or even because they genuinely think the mayor is the best for the region?

And does it even matter if both deliver for the public?

When I worked in local government jobs over a certain amount had to go to 3 quotes, and for a higher amount it was the full tender process. All these levels were much, much lower than the reported levels these jobs were given out without any competition. It's noteworthy that you don't have to accept the lowest quote if there's a good reason not to, so if they're the best for the job and best value for money why didn't they go to tender? Nothing to fear, surely?
 
When I worked in local government jobs over a certain amount had to go to 3 quotes, and for a higher amount it was the full tender process. All these levels were much, much lower than the reported levels these jobs were given out without any competition. It's noteworthy that you don't have to accept the lowest quote if there's a good reason not to, so if they're the best for the job and best value for money why didn't they go to tender? Nothing to fear, surely?

I agree they should go to tender if it is public money, but the phrase 'appears to have been awarded without a tendering process' suggests this is speculation imo.
 
Giving a "thank you" to a politician is in itself a very dubious thing to do - does the manager of the local Sainsbury's give you a tenner now and again to thank you for doing your weekly shopping there ?

I think also if you explore the thread, there's one individual in there who seems to benefit from these contracts and their awards to the different companies he's involved in. He seems to sponsor a lot of things at MFC as well through his main business.
 
Tricky area this.

Are you giving contracts to companies because they give you donations, or are you giving contracts to companies because you know them, trust them to do a good job and those companies give a donation as a thank you, or even because they genuinely think the mayor is the best for the region?

And does it even matter if both deliver for the public?
you could convince me to agree with you on a good day, but this is part 3 of the same stuff, with, I'm told many more parts to come.
 
It’s been reported in the Gazette that £600k has been spunked on the Boho X project. I’d like to know how and if there are any links between the Middlesbrough Mayor and the companies carrying out the work.
 
I take all your very good points, I'm playing devil's advocate to a degree and being as charitable as I can.

I know people who have senior positions at massive national firms who try to give contracts to local firms or people they know. They only do it because they know they will get a good service though, not because they are mates. Sometimes the friendship comes through the good business relationship.

The companies who he puts good business their way might invite him to a sportsmans dinner, or a pro-am jolly or a trip to Silverstone or Epsom say. Was this therefore a factor in him passing them business? I know it wasn't and I also know the suppliers know that but still want to show appreciation. I know this. However, it certainly could be looked at suspiciously by those on the outside with total validity.

So for me it comes down to does the contract deliver on service, cost, reliability etc. If it does then the people involved should be shown some trust. If not then all the questions around transparency, tendering, remuneration etc. are legitimate and actually there should be legal and criminal repercussions.

I say this as someone who sees this government as rife with corruption and/or incompetence, not just with money coming in, but who it has awarded Covid and Brexit contracts to and how. But then these fail the delivering of services and value for money tests anyway.
 
Giving a "thank you" to a politician is in itself a very dubious thing to do - does the manager of the local Sainsbury's give you a tenner now and again to thank you for doing your weekly shopping there ?

I don't know about sainsbury's but Morrisons and Lidl often give me vouchers as a thank you for shopping there.
 
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