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Probe into Blackpool Council contracts
A PROBE has been launched into all contracts Blackpool Council has with a resort building company after the firm was fined for its part in a national price fixing scandal.
Council leader Peter Callow said town hall officers would investigate dealings with F Parkinson – one of the council's preferred bidders – after it was found guilty of colluding with other firms while bidding for lucrative contracts.
Parkinsons was one of 103 firms yesterday fined following a probe by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).
It was hit with a 174,000 penalty.
Blackpool Airport owners Balfour Beatty was fined 5m after it too was among the firms involved.
Coun Callow said it was vital to review the situation.
He said: "The paramount thing for me is Blackpool has got value for money on all the work which is going on in the town, so I have launched our own investigation, which I believe residents will want to see. We have contacted the people in our capital works team and are getting them to go through the list to see if any of the companies (involved here) have done work for us in the past.
"I have to make sure, for myself and for the people of Blackpool, there has been nothing untoward in Blackpool."
Most of the 103 firms involved undertook a practice known as "cover-pricing".
It meant the tendering authority, which could be a local council or other customer, received a false impression of the level of competition and could end up paying inflated prices.
The contracts F Parkinson was found to have colluded on involved a sports hall extension at a youth and community centre in Thornaby, Cleveland, a factory and offices in Haydock and extension and refurbishments of a sports centre in York.
In the first case, the Mowbray Drive developer won the tender to carry out the work.
F Parkinson was involved in the building of the new 5m St John's Primary School on Church Street, Blackpool and will be developing the new urgent care centre at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.
Neither contract featured in the OFT investigation.
In a statement, management at F Parkinson said it "condemned" anti-competitive behaviour, which it said it regarded as "totally unacceptable."
The firm said: "F Parkinson Ltd has acted swiftly and cooperated fully with the OFT in respect of three tenders submitted during the period 2002 to 2005, in which a number of individuals exchanged tender information.
"Although this did not affect the competitiveness of any tender, we accept these actions were in breach of the Competition Act 1998 and, as soon as they came to light, were stamped out within our company.''
Bosses at Balfour Beatty said its fine related to a subsidiary, Mansell, for actions taken before it was acquired. It secured a 50 per cent reduction in its fine by co-operating with the OFT.
"Balfour Beatty is confident all of its employees are fully aware of the law and its intent, and that they follow appropriate practices.
Balfour Beatty neither promotes nor condones anti-competitive behaviour," a statement said.
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Sunday 27 May 2012
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