Labour-led Haringey Council refuse to answer a Freedom of Information Act request for details of departure of key management figures, say Lib Dems

Labour-led Haringey Council continues to restrict access to information surrounding the departure of key management figures in the aftermath of the huge £10.6 million Tech Refresh project overspend.

Councillor Wayne Hoban, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrat Council Group, submitted a Freedom of Information Act request asking the Council to ‘Provide full details of the terms under which the previous Tech Refresh Project Manager had left the project and the employ of Haringey, to include any financial payments which may have been made in connection with his departure.’ The request was refused, raising suspicions that the matter had been swept under the carpet.

At a meeting to discuss the Audit Commission’s report into the Tech Refresh fiasco, it was confirmed that neither the previous Council Chief Executive nor the previous Tech Refresh Project Manager had been interviewed by the Audit Commission during its investigation into the huge IT overspend.

Cllr Hoban states: “I find it unbelievable that the Audit Commission should not seek to interview such key people during the course of its investigation into this huge council overspend. They both played an absolutely central role in respects of key decisions made which led to huge IT project overspend and they both left the council’s employ following revelations of the huge overspend without reasonable explanation.It is clearly an unacceptable and unsatisfactory situation.”

Cllr Hoban comments: “Not a single person has been held responsible for this fiasco. £10.6 million pounds has been wasted, and local taxpayers will want to know who is to be held accountable.

“This Labour run council has clearly chosen to adopt exactly the same strategy it followed after Lord Laming’s damning inquiry into the Climbie tragedy, where no senior manager of Executive member was held responsible or was disciplined despite evidence of huge management failures. Haringey residents deserve better. This Labour-run council is unwilling or unable to accept responsibility for its failures. Residents have an opportunity to vote for a more transparent and accountable council by voting Liberal Democrat on May 4th.”