WiFi

[Nemo]

Is this a good thread in which to state that Garry Perkins annoys the hell out of me?

If not, apologies.

[Simon Pieman]

Out of interest, how does this MP know that the correct tendering processes were not followed?

[Charlie Henry]

Maybe we should get the town end pressure group involved and get JFW to be our new MP, there seem to be quite a few of you who would like to see her talking out of her arse

[pauld]

My post was supposed to be more of a "have a read of this and make up your own opinion"

Fair enough. But the problem is it's very detailed discussion of the minutiae which I'm sure makes lots of sense to those involved but gives you very little idea unless you've followed every single step of all the ins and outs.

Just to add, I'm not bashing the council. There are elected representatives acting in a way which appears to be very dishonest, these councillors are linked to our 2 potential tory MPs. I know there's lots of dishonesty all over politics at the moment but surely we have a duty to bring all elected representatives to account.

The council are purely dancing to the beat of the (seemingly) corrupt councillors. Its time Tomlinson and Buckland state their position. If they can't be straight with us in local politics we're on a highway to hell if they get a national voice.

You still haven't said what it is they're supposed to have done or indeed who you're calling corrupt come to that. It's a very strong allegation to make, care to explain how/why you think there's actual corruption (as opposed to, say, incompetence, poor judgement or just mudslinging) involved?

[pauld]

Out of interest, how does this MP know that the correct tendering processes were not followed?

As I understand it, it's more a case that no tendering process was followed ie that the contract wasn't put out to tender and it should have been. And whether this is a "contract" that should be put out to tender in the same way that, say, resurfacing the roads or something should versus whether it's a partnership which the council has entered into is the nub of it.

I may have all this arse about backwards. I'm sure someone will put me right if I have.

[jonny72]

There was no tendering process as there was nothing to tender. If Swindon Council had wanted to create a city wide Wifi network that they would own and run then they would have had to put it out to tender, but this isn't what happened. A company approached Swindon Council with a business proposal and a deal was agreed - a loan in exchange for equity in the company.

If you watch those video's you'll see that Anne Snelgrove and the government minister both acknowledge this fact yet for some reason they still go on about the tendering process. In effect they are claiming in should have gone out to tender whilst acknowledging in the same sentence that there was no grounds for it to go out to tender.

Most of the other issues raised are along the same lines. The £450k may or may not have been an acceptable risk. There may or may not have been a suitable business proposal. Wifi may or may not have been the best technology. There may or may not be a health risk with Wifi. The councillors may or may not have done something wrong. There may or may not have been something dodgy going on. Then add on some attacks on the Tory councillors and plenty of pats on the back for the Labour government.

Unless they actually come up with some facts there is nothing to suggest this is anything other than Labour being in election mode - Swindon is one of the seats the Tories need to win to gain power so its worth a fight and there is a good chance it will be a close call.

[Simon Pieman]

Sorry Paul, I get that - public sector organisations/local governments etc. should have procurement and tendering processes and procedures. Within this, there will be a procedure in accordance to purchase value. e.g. purchases up to £10,000 may only require 3 quotations, whereas contracts of £50,000 or more require at least 3 formal tenders to be received and where the lowest cost contract is not selected, justifiable reasons must be documented.

What I wanted to know is what evidence has the MP got to suggest this hasn't been followed? Is it a case she has asked to see the tendering documentation and it hasn't been produced, or simply a hunch she has based on hearing something on the grapevine?

[Batch]

As I understand it, it's more a case that no tendering process was followed ie that the contract wasn't put out to tender and it should have been. And whether this is a "contract" that should be put out to tender in the same way that, say, resurfacing the roads or something should versus whether it's a partnership which the council has entered into is the nub of it.

I may have all this arse about backwards. I'm sure someone will put me right if I have.

About right as far a I understand it. It should have been tendered.

But separating that from the actual idea of free wifi, the idea is a good one. I've no idea if it will be commercially successful, depends how good the coverage/service/speed is and what the usage T&C's are I suppose. It looked good at a price point (£9.99 pm I think).

I hope the council bashers don't scupper the deal. God knows SBC need little help pushing back the frontiers of progress.

[Simon Pieman]

Jonny, if the Council have set procedures which state they must follow such a process if a purchase/contract of £x is made then they must follow that whether they were approached first or not.

[Batch]

There was no tendering process as there was nothing to tender. If Swindon Council had wanted to create a city wide Wifi network that they would own and run then they would have had to put it out to tender, but this isn't what happened.

Even if there is no legal/constitutional requirement to tender, which I'm not sure about, they have a responsibility to act in the taxpayers best interest. And that should include best price in this case. If they did that, fair enough.

Like I say, I'm behind the project.

[pauld]

There may or may not be a health risk with Wifi.

Surely only witch-burners and people who refer to tellies as "The Devil's Lantern" actually think that? (I know you weren't pushing that jonny btw)

So, there's possibly some procedural shenannigans gone on and obviously anything that involves Rikki should have the word "ARSE" stamped on it in flourescent letters, but I'm still not seeing this "corruption" and "cover-up" stuff the OP was talking about? That sounds much more exciting - this, as far as I can see, is a local politics spat that the local politicos (and really not many other people) are getting all het up about. I want to see red in tooth and claw corruption, backhanders, brown envelopes, shady meetings in motorway services. Come on!

[chalkies_shorts]

As soon as I see one of the Scouse chuckle brothers involved, i take the other side. I'm not sure if anything untoward has happenned here but there is more than enough suspicion to warrant an independent investigation.

[Talk Talk]

Is this a good thread in which to state that Garry Perkins annoys the hell out of me?

If not, apologies.

It is an excellent time to voice that opinion. In fact every day is also timely. Garry Perkins is an A1 weapons grade cunt and along with Nick Martin that makes two out of three of my local councillors a disgraceful use of sperm and ovums. Self serving deceitful evil corrupt fuckpigs. Well, like the majority of politicians really.

[Talk Talk]

Oh and Swindon wide WiFi is a load of cock as well. It's like giving laptops away to poor people. Suddenly access to the information superhighway is going to make everybody more intelligent, productive and produce oodles and oodles of jobs and a more informed workforce.

Will it fuck. It just means easier access to porn and crud like Facebook for most.

[Bennett]

Oh and Swindon wide WiFi is a load of cock as well. It's like giving laptops away to poor people. Suddenly access to the information superhighway is going to make everybody more intelligent, productive and produce oodles and oodles of jobs and a more informed workforce.

Will it fuck. It just means easier access to porn and crud like Facebook for most.

bennett likes this