Perth and Kinross Council has hired consultants it has already paid over £640,000 in the past five years to survey residents and come up with suggestions for three blocks of flats in Perth for a further £35,000.
According to invoices released through Freedom of Information (FoI) legislation and analysed by the PA, the local authority spent at least £82,899 with Turner and Townsend in 2014/15 and at least another £107,783 with them the next year.
The same analysis shows PKC then spent a further £231,733 with the Leeds-headquartered consultancy the year after that and then another £217,911 with them in 2017/18.
The local authority has now tasked the same consultancy to survey people currently living in Milne, Market and Lickley Court in Perth and come up with an “options appraisal” for the three blocks by the end of next month for a further £35,000.
The contract award notice states: “To assist with the preparation of updated asset management plans and to help develop future investment strategies for the three blocks of flats (containing a total of 105 flats) at Milne, Market and Lickley Court, Perth, it has been agreed that specific property survey information should be obtained and an appraisal of options should be undertaken.”
It adds this process will require “project management resources” and concludes: “It is anticipated that the works included in this element of the project will be completed between December 2018 and May 2019.”
Asked why Turner and Townsend were being paid to do this work, a local authority spokesperson explained: “This contract will provide the council with detailed survey information and analysis that will inform the council’s future investment plans for these blocks of flats.
“In this case the council hired a consultant because we do not have the expertise in-house to carry out the specialist engineering and technical work required.
“The award of this work to Turner and Townsend was made under the Scotland Excel framework; Engineering and Technical Consultancy Services. This procurement framework has been created for use by all Scottish local authorities.
“Their fee will be paid from the budget used to fund the council’s ongoing capital improvement programme - an ambitious multi-million pound investment that continues to raise the standards of homes for our tenants.
“Thanks to this programme 96.15 per cent of PKC housing stock now meets the Scottish Housing Quality Standard, against a national average of 93.6 per cent.”
And quizzed about the local authority’s escalating spend with Turner and Townsend the spokesperson added: “Previous project commissions were awarded from the Scotland Excel framework to support internal staffing in the successful delivery of the previous and ongoing housing revenue account and general services capital plans.”
