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Taxpayers to dig for £20M for Liverpool Dock


Non-Believer

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This is going to be a great public enquiry if it were to be done properly, in fact possibly the basis for a film script !

Imo it's going to take some explaining by a few, how we managed to pay 120million for two ageing boats in need of replacement and a monopoly sea route, the "lease" if you will, on which we already owned ! Coupled with, why did a politico ask for expressions of interest from others over a Christmas break, so there was no time for anyone to even look at the proposal. Having listened to I think Mrs Caine with a presenter, can't recall which one, saying the SPCO is only able to operate and make a profit because of freight, why then do we then throw a ridiculous amount of money at a port, the planning permission for which and indeed its physical layout make freight a non starter.

I agree we should have bought the SPCO, but not at the price we did ( who were major shareholders ?), and when the purchase was announced, its plan for producing revenue seemed a sound one. I firmly believe it has gone from a sound fiscal move to a millstone around our neck, and logic suggests it will be an awful long time, if ever, before it returns to the former.

Another gross profligacy with taxpayers money ! Alf Cannan certainly has his hands full with this shower !

 

 

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There was an interesting Written Answer released over the Christmas period that some may have missed:

The Hon. Ms August-Hanson MLC to ask the Minister of Infrastructure – Whether his Department has entered into financial commitments beyond £38,054,000 relating to the Liverpool Landing Stage; and, if so, what power granted those decisions?

The Minister of Infrastructure (Minister Crookall):

At the July 2021 sitting of Tynwald, the Department came forward with a request for interim funding of £13.8m to provide budget capacity past the post-election Tynwald sittings with clarity that once scour procurement and associated negotiations were complete, the Department would revert for the balance of funding.

This was to regularise the financial position.

Tynwald did not support this request.

At July 2021 the contractual commitment was identified as at worst case, circa £32.4m. Using this figure, the rate of expenditure and adding further orders required prior to the scour commitment decision, which was anticipated at that time to be in November, the project was expected to remain within budget until that point. This was based upon the below:

image.png.34f753a018644ecd8325d1258a4cccf8.png

The Department is contractually committed to honouring payments under the building contract and has continued to do so since July 2021, without any alternative direction from Tynwald.

Tynwald’s approval on 14 December 2021 to the request for additional funding provides the mandate to complete the project.

I suspect this just means they're going to continue spending whatever they are asked for because of the 'contract'.  But it's not clear.

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22 minutes ago, Roger Mexico said:

There was an interesting Written Answer released over the Christmas period that some may have missed:

The Hon. Ms August-Hanson MLC to ask the Minister of Infrastructure – Whether his Department has entered into financial commitments beyond £38,054,000 relating to the Liverpool Landing Stage; and, if so, what power granted those decisions?

The Minister of Infrastructure (Minister Crookall):

At the July 2021 sitting of Tynwald, the Department came forward with a request for interim funding of £13.8m to provide budget capacity past the post-election Tynwald sittings with clarity that once scour procurement and associated negotiations were complete, the Department would revert for the balance of funding.

This was to regularise the financial position.

Tynwald did not support this request.

At July 2021 the contractual commitment was identified as at worst case, circa £32.4m. Using this figure, the rate of expenditure and adding further orders required prior to the scour commitment decision, which was anticipated at that time to be in November, the project was expected to remain within budget until that point. This was based upon the below:

image.png.34f753a018644ecd8325d1258a4cccf8.png

The Department is contractually committed to honouring payments under the building contract and has continued to do so since July 2021, without any alternative direction from Tynwald.

Tynwald’s approval on 14 December 2021 to the request for additional funding provides the mandate to complete the project.

I suspect this just means they're going to continue spending whatever they are asked for because of the 'contract'.  But it's not clear.

What an absolute load of gobbledegook of a reply. How the hell was anyone supposed to understand that? 

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1 minute ago, Andy Onchan said:

What an absolute load of gobbledegook of a reply. How the hell was anyone supposed to understand that? 

They're not.....

Suffice to say - just in case anybody thought we were actually on top of the MUA debt situation, it's ok, we're busy creating another one in Liverpool...

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38 minutes ago, Roger Mexico said:

The Department is contractually committed to honouring payments under the building contract and has continued to do so since July 2021, without any alternative direction from Tynwald.

Tynwald should now examine the contract in full, who signed it ? on whose authority ? and better still, who knew it exposed the taxpayers to an unquantified sum of money ?

 

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1 hour ago, Non-Believer said:

They're not.....

Suffice to say - just in case anybody thought we were actually on top of the MUA debt situation, it's ok, we're busy creating another one in Liverpool...

It's ok, we'll just keep our heads buried in the sand and ignore this, MUA debt and the pensions black hole. It doesn't (seem) to bother anyone until the wolf is actually at the door. 

 

59 minutes ago, asitis said:

Tynwald should now examine the contract in full, who signed it ? on whose authority ? and better still, who knew it exposed the taxpayers to an unquantified sum of money ?

 

Liverpool and Douglas Prom should be the subjects of investigation by forensic accountants. Some would say the actions of the DOI in the last 7+ years have been borderline criminal. 

Personally I suspect it's more boring and is purely the result of widescale institutionalised incompetence within that Department. 

People who questioned the appointment of Nick Black as CEO were shouted down at the time as Manx Crabs (what experience and qualifications did he actually have?). Well it looks like that one has come home to roost. 

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