A REPORT into the failures of the Dorset Waste Partnership to comply with legal requirements has been scrutinised by councillors.

The DWP joint committee recently agreed 37 changes to the way the service is run after criticism following the roll-out of the Recycle for Dorset scheme in Weymouth and Portland.

An urgent investigation was launched with three independent reviews undertaken into the partnership’s budget management, decision making and the use of hire vehicles, after DWP overspent by £2.8 million.

A total of 28 DWP vehicles were operated without notifying the national government body about their insurance details – a criminal offence.

Two companies had also been awarded work worth £1.5 million without a proper tendering process.

Dorset County Council’s cabinet were bound under the Government and Housing Act 1989 to consider a report looking into the criminal offence.

The report addressed a ‘failure to comply with legal requirements for contracts to be exposed to competition’.

It identified suggested next steps and areas for further investigation, and said by the end of May 2015 DCC will be in a ‘fully compliant position’.

Next steps included seeking alternative contract arrangements to secure best value in the future, replacing unlawful arrangements with ones that are legally compliant and making clear to DWP that it must operate within DCC’s governance arrangements.

The DWP director’s observations in the report said due to the heavy focus on operational activity, DWP missed a ‘continuing build up of cost’ against a non compliant contractor.

The director also accepted there may have been a contravention of procurement law.

Discussing the report, council leader Robert Gould said: “I’m sorry this is the situation we now find ourselves in as host authority. It is our responsibility to make sure in the future that proper procurement processes are followed.”

Cllr Paul Kimber questioned whether DCC was checking through other areas that it ‘might be falling over on this type of reporting’.

Members asked whether procurement processes were being reassessed to make sure the council does not ‘fall into the same holes’, but were reassured the issue was about following the processes and not defects in the processes themselves.

Cllr Trevor Jones said: “There is a burgeoning number of partnerships in the UK. Those partnerships spending a lot of money with complex arrangements cannot be left alone at arm’s length to sink or swim; it’s clearly a risk.

“It jumps off the page that DWP did not have a proper scrutiny operation. Change is important to stop things spiralling out of control.”

Cllr Steve Butler said: “We spent our time noting and commenting as opposed to trying to find out what was really going on.”

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