8 October (Part 1) - Bexley council distorts the truth, is it Tongue in Cheek?
For
new readers; the TIC is the Thames Innovation Centre, “a 100% local authority controlled company” according to Bexley
council’s own website. Planned by the previous Labour administration and opened under the Conservatives in 2006,
since when it has swallowed shedloads of taxpayers money in an effort to keep the enterprise
afloat. Bexley council also places its own business there where possible to help shore it up.
Perhaps its principal claim to fame is that Bexley council publicly demonstrated
the calibre of its top management by knowingly employing a suspected paedophile as
the TIC manager while mothers and children were attending a baby care business operating
within the Centre. Bexley’s managers also took the decision to continue to employ
him after his arrest and turned a blind eye to the misdirection of mail by another employee. However
someone did lose their job over this appalling exercise in mismanagement; the whistleblower.
Each year more money has been going down the TIC drain. You may
read a summary here.
On 6th April 2011, last year, the council was asked at its meeting…
Given that according to their latest available accounts, the Thames
Innovation Centre Limited has lost in excess of £470,000 from 2006-2010 and
still has the opportunity to draw on £100,000 (interest free for ten years) from
Bexley council, would councillor Campbell consider withdrawing the option of
this loan facility and using the money freed up to ensure the provision of other
front-line services to the residents of the Borough?
…and in what appeared to be
a reasonable if somewhat rose-tinted response, deputy
council leader Colin Campbell said…
The full written reply may be
seen here.
So a small profit was made in 2010/11 and a bigger one was expected in the year 2011/12. Hmmm. What happened? What do the accounts for that year say?
Oh dear. A “small profit” has reverted to the normal loss making position and the debts have become
worse. Not much of a forecast by councillor Campbell was it? But it didn’t stop him from singing the
TIC’s praises at the
Finance Scrutiny Committee meeting last Thursday.
You don’t need a fish-eye lens to get a distorted view of the Thames Innovation Centre, just ask
councillor Campbell. Have you ever seen a more incompetent, hopeless, out of touch, pledge
breaking, make it up as you go along, back of the envelope, miserable shower? (©
Edward Samuel Milliband)
Research by Nicholas Dowling, words by you know who.