Aug 262008
It is being reported (in the Eastbourne Herald and the Hastings Observer) that Seaford MP Norman Baker has written to the auditor of East Sussex County Council’s accounts, demanding a formal investigation is launched into the way in which the contract for the controversial incinerator at Newhaven has been handled.
Formally objecting to the county council’s accounts, Mr Baker raised several areas of concern over the council’s waste management contract, including:
- The contract terms which he believes may prevent national targets for recycling being met – Kent County Council is losing £1 million a year because of its obligation to send materials for incineration that could be recycled.
- A concern that East Sussex County Council may not be able to compel Veolia to export a specific volume of electricity from the plant. The council has always maintained that the incinerator is an ‘energy from waste’ facility.
- The question of who has control over the selection of materials for recycling.
- The question of who regulates the contracts between Veolia and the purchasers of recyclates, and whether or not the county council will be getting best value from the sales.
- Asking why the county council has acquired a lease of 50 years for the incinerator site, when the contract with Veolia runs for only 25 years.
According the these reports, Mr Baker is quoted as saying:
I have always been very concerned about the proposals to build an incinerator in Newhaven. However, what I find equally concerning is the manner in which the county council has gone about securing the waste management contract with Veolia. There appear to be many areas in which, on inspection, it has to be asked whether or not the council has succeeded in obtaining value for public money. I have formally written to the auditor of the county council’s accounts, and have requested that an investigation take place, in order that the actions of the council with regards to the contract be open to independent scrutiny. So far this incinerator has only succeeded in burning money rather than waste.
[...] Profound concerns about PFI contracts (such as those expressed recently by Norman Baker) [...]