'Unbelievable' amount spent by Council on film and website

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A project funded by Rochdale Borough Council is being investigated by the Council's internal audit team following controversy over what appears to be an “unbelievable” amount of money spent on a project that in essence was little more than the production of a film and an exceptionally poor website.

Following a news article published in early December, Rochdale Online received a tip off that the cost of the 'Explore Falinge' project was tens of thousands of pounds.

An initial reply to our enquiries, via a member of the Council Communications Team, was at best disingenuous suggesting as the reply did that, “The council contribution was the cost of the 75 minute film - £2500 including the editing.”

With the financial discrepancy regarding the Council contribution so huge, we sought further clarification and explained that Rochdale Online was confident the tens of thousands figure was the true council cost, not £2,500.

This elicited the following reply:

“Regarding the costs of the above project –

The total was £53,985.

This was funded by 3 partners:

Rochdale Borough Council: £28,655
Link4Life [the Council's leisure arm] £15,690
Rochdale Boroughwide Housing [the Council's social housing arm] £9,640”

Moreover, strict guidelines to ensure that suppliers are selected on merit and a fair and transparent process has taken place, such as obtaining a number of competitive quotes, do not appear to have been adhered to.

The Leader of the Liberal Democrat party, who was the Leader of Rochdale Council when this project was running, Councillor Irene Davidson was stunned when Rochdale Online revealed the cost to her, she said: “This is the first I have heard of the cost and we need to be asking why this amount was spent. I didn’t even realise. The question we need to be asking is why.

“I knew nothing about this. I only got involved when I was invited.”

Councillor Davidson added: “This is a bit of a shock, especially in this day and age when people might lose their jobs. I know we have to support areas but this is too much money we have got other areas to concentrate on too.”

The Leader of the Conservative party in Rochdale, Councillor Ashley Dearnley, said he was not aware of the money spent so would find it difficult to comment.

He added: “We need to be very, very careful at a time when major savings are required.

“A thorough investigation needs to be carried out and that is something I will be urging us to do. We need to find out how these decisions are being made.

When asked about the Council not putting the project out for competitive quotes, Councillor Dearnley said: “It is difficult to comment when not knowing the background. These things should be open and transparent but it doesn’t seem as though this is the case. Questions need to be asked and we need a proper explanation.”

The Leader of the newly formed Independent Alliance party, Councillor Greg Couzens initial reaction to the figure was shock.

He described the money spent on the project as “unbelievable” adding “I am shocked.”
Councillor Couzens said: “A certain amount of money was allocated to Falinge and that money was spent at the discretion of the officers.

He added: “I am shocked. Is £54k for a film and a website the best use of resources?

“Further investigation needs to take place.”

The new Leader of Rochdale Council, Councillor Colin Lambert, said: “This project was clearly part of the previous coalition’s spending plans and at this time I have no details on the project or what its outcomes were.

“I am now asking for a further breakdown of the figures to identify where the £28,665 RMBC money came from.”

Since the initial furore, council officers have been quietly briefing councillors that the project involved "a lot more than producing a film and a website". However, in the initial reply to Rochdale Online questions, a Council spokesman said: "The project has developed and consists of a website with films of local activity and groups, as well as local services."

In light of the conflicting answers coming from council officers, Rochdale Online poses the following open question:

In the public interest, and in a spirit of openness and transparency, will council officers provide for publication a detailed breakdown of the fees paid, to whom the fees were paid and what services were provided for those fees?

www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/50223/community-gather-for-lower-falinge-film-premiere