Oxfordshire council 'asleep at the wheel' over £1.6m pay-out

Oxfordshire County Council said it had since introduced a "significant personnel change"

The leaders of a council which paid £1.6m to settle a parking contract row have been accused of being "asleep at the wheel" by opposition parties.

Mistakes made over the awarding of a parking contract led to Oxfordshire County Council settling with Marston Holdings Ltd out of court in February.

The company filed a legal claim when it did not win back a contract to carry out parking enforcement in the county.

Councillors called for cabinet members to "accept their part" in the blunder.

Liberal Democrat councillor Liz Leffman called on the council's leadership to "recognise what has happened here" and to "apologise to taxpayers who deserve better".

Her party's leader Richard Webber described the leadership as being "asleep at the wheel".

Lawyers challenging the council over its car parking contracts found "significant failings" in its procurement process.

A report said Marstons Holdings Ltd alleged in June 2019 the awarding of the parking contract "had been undertaken contrary to the procurement regulations".

The report added the council's "chances of success in defending the challenge as being poor".

The Local Democracy Reporting Service reports several cabinet members appeared to have responsibility for the contract, including finance lead David Bartholomew, and transport boss Yvonne Constance.

'Not good enough'

At a previous council meeting on March 23, Mr Bartholomew revealed he first found out about the settlement payment in January 2020 and called for an investigation into why it had been made without councillors' involvement.

Speaking before councillors on Wednesday, Mr Bartholomew said: "You cannot ask questions about something you do not know about. As members we are part-time volunteers, not full-time experts."

The council is making changes to its constitution which would mean officers can no longer sign off such legal pay-outs without oversight from elected councillors.

Labour councillor Glynis Philips said it was "not good enough" that the council's leaders "knew about this for 11 months before bringing it to the audit and governance committee".

Oxfordshire County Council has said it has introduced "rigorous new procedures" and made "significant personnel change".