Oxfordshire County Council pays out £1.6m over car park error

The county council paid out the sum to Marstons Holdings Ltd after the company challenged the process for awarding a contract for parking enforcement.

Marstons used to hold the contract and made a legal challenge in June 2019 when it did not win it again.

The council has faced criticism for the mistake, with one Oxford MP branding it ‘a catastrophic failure’ and saying the costs have dwarfed the amount the county council is spending on important services like those for young people.

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Details of the legal challenge have been revealed in a report for the county council’s audit and governance committee, due to meet next Wednesday.

According to the report, a lawyer described as a leading QC, found ‘significant failings in the evaluation exercise’ carried out by the council in contracting for parking enforcement.

They added the council’s chance of defending against a legal challenge would be ‘poor’ with Marstons’ chances of winning the case being between 75 per cent and 85 per cent.

Because of this, the council decided to settle the case out of court, costing it a total of £1,607,338.57.

An internal investigation and an independent external review were carried out into what happened, with former members of staff even contacted.

The investigation found the tendering process for the parking contract was ‘weak’ and said there was poor communication between the council’s paid staff and elected senior councillors in the cabinet.

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It also added there was ‘inconsistent management’ of the contract because temporary and agency workers had been hired to help with the procurement process.

The report said no disciplinary action needed to be carried out, but said the mistake was the result of ‘systemic failure’.

It added: “There was not enough evidence to suggest this was the consequence of a lack of competence or purposeful action by clearly identifiable individual or group of individuals.”

Guidance on procurement has also been updated, including the way in which elected cabinet members are briefed on the process of awarding contracts.

Yvonne Rees

Yvonne Rees, the Chief Executive of Oxfordshire County Council, commissioned the independent review.

She said: “The council has accepted in full the recommendations that have been made. Building on this, there is a resolute determination throughout the organisation to minimise the chances of such circumstances ever re-occurring.”

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Monitoring Officer Anita Bradley added: “We have followed to the letter the correct and proper process for conducting a review of this nature. We are acutely aware that we are accountable to the Oxfordshire public and that we have a duty to be honest and transparent in our management of public money.”

The mistake has also led to questions from the Lib Dem MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, Layla Moran.

Oxford West MP Layla Moran chairs an all-parliamentary group on Covid.

Ms Moran said: "This looks like a catastrophic failure by the Conservative-run County Council that has cost taxpayers in our community £1.6m at a time when our local services are already under severe strain.

"That's more money than the recent county council budget put towards Children's Services and Youth Services combined.”

She added: "I want to know why it has taken so long for this to be made public, who is taking responsibility for it and how they are will make sure it can't happen again. Oxfordshire deserves better."

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