Rother tightens up on contract rules

WHEN a quantity surveyor carrying out pre-contract work on Bexhill's Elva Business Park project was later engaged for continuation work, it broke Rother District Council's rules.

The council’s scrutiny committee, meeting on Monday, heard that an hourly rather than a fixed rate had been agreed, and a waiver in procedures was not requested to obtain less than the necessary three competitive quotes.

Although the hourly rate was competitive and the project at the former Sidley Goods Yard remained within budget, the committee heard that staff responsible for the error had been spoken to and further training arranged.

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In another case, in which procurement of a drainage works contract at Little Common failed to follow procedures, an investigation revealed some slight misunderstandings of how the rules applied.

As a result, some plain English guides are being produced and the correct procedures had been gone through with relevant staff.

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