Star date: 2nd June 2017

SALFORD COUNCIL USING ELECTION AND 'TERROR ATTACK' TO SUPPRESS MASSIVE SPENDING INFORMATION

Salford Council is using General Election 'purdah' rules and, apparently, the Manchester bomb attack, to suppress information about huge past and future spending.

The Council states that "During the pre-election (purdah) period we are unable to publish the council expenditure reports". This is garbage. The information should have been published three months ago.

The Council also states that it 'deferred' a decision on millions of pounds of future spending on the controversial 100 Embankment and New Bailey office schemes. Yet, according to Property Week, a decision was made but "due to the terror attack in Manchester" hasn't been signed off. The meeting took place before the bomb attack actually happened!

Full details here...

Salford City Council is suppressing financial information in the run-up to the General Election, using 'purdah' rules which don't apply and, according to Property Week, the 'Manchester terror attack' – even though a secret controversial meeting took place before the attack happened.

Salford City Council has to disclose all spending over £500 and publish the details on its website every three months, in line with the Local Government Transparency Code.

It hasn't done this since December 2016, six months ago. Now, the Council is stating that "During the pre-election (purdah) period we are unable to publish the council expenditure reports".*** Yet the information was due before the General Election was actually called.

The Local Government Association code on pre-election practice states..."In relation to decision making within the council, the position remains that it is 'business as usual' unless there are very good reasons why this should not be the case. In the vast majority of cases, the pre-election period will have no impact on normal council business..."

...So when it came to an incredibly sensitive, secret controversial meeting to pump millions of pounds into private property, while slashing services such as The Grange residential home for disabled children, the Council could not hide behind 'purdah'.

The Salford Star has consistently reported on two massive private office developments that Salford Council has underwritten with public money.

First up is the One New Bailey office development, owned by the mega wealthy Legal and General Pension Fund. Here, Salford Council underwrote the lease which has resulted in payments of over £2million of public money for empty offices (see previous Salford Star article for full details – click here).

Next up is ASK Development's 101 Embankment, the huge black glass building opposite Manchester Cathedral. Here, former Salford City Mayor, Ian Stewart, signed an agreement, in secret, to make the Council formally liable for an eight year pre-lease on the whole of the first office block, guaranteeing 100% of the rent (click here).

A week last Monday, at the City Mayor's Property and Regeneration Briefing, Salford Council was due to make a decision on two new blocks of offices as part of these developments...Two New Bailey and 100 Greengate (as the Council likes to call the Embankment, just to confuse everyone)...

Again, there was total secrecy surrounding the financial details, with public and press excluded from the meeting and all documents withheld on the grounds of 'commercial confidentiality'.

The meeting took place at 11am on Monday 22nd May, and a decision notice was published for other items on the agenda – Land at St Stephen Street and Highways Investment Programme – but not for 100 Greengate and 2 New Bailey.

When the Salford Star queried this, a notice was put up stating the item had been 'deferred'.

Yet today, Property Week carries an article (see here) containing all the details of the decision, stating that "At 100 Embankment - also known as 100 Greengate - the council plans to enter into a joint venture with current partners Ask Developments and Tristan Capital and will forward-fund the scheme in full. The gross development value of the building is thought to be about £100m."

The article adds that "at Two New Bailey, which is being developed by Muse Developments and the English Cities Fund, the council is set to take a 25-year lease on the entire building."

Incredible, considering that Salford Council's official stance is that the item was "deferred"...

Property Week adds that "The investments were approved at a closed-door committee meeting last week, but have not yet been signed off by the city's mayor due to the terror attack in Manchester".

The meeting took place at 11am, almost twelve hours before the horrific Manchester bomb attack actually happened. And the other decisions at the meeting managed to get signed off and published.

Salford residents can only conclude that all this potentially embarrassing information is being deliberately suppressed in the run up to the General Election.

*The Salford Star would ask Salford City Council to justify these moves – except that Salford Council hasn't responded to any Salford Star press enquiries for over four years.

**Salford City Council also managed to avoid publishing a report on the equally controversial AJ Bell Stadium at its last full meeting, which has also been 'deferred' until after the General Election – see previous Salford Star article – click here

*** 'Purdah' is the period leading up to an election where there are strict guidelines relating to communications from public bodies so as not to politically influence the electorate.

The Local Government Act states that councils should "not publish any material which, in whole or in part, appears to be designed to affect public support for a political party", and the Local Government Association code of practice adds that councils should not "produce publicity on matters which are politically controversial... make references to individual politicians or groups in press releases, arrange proactive media or events involving candidates"...

Producing a set of neutral spending facts in an obscure corner of the Salford Council website and not proactively publicising them (which it has never done anyway, more the opposite!) would not seem to break any purdah restrictions.

The Cabinet Office told the Salford Star "We're not the purdah police", and referred us to confusing guidance for civil servants which states, on one hand, that "Regular pre-announced statistical releases (e.g. press notices, bulletins, publications or electronic releases) will continue to be issued and published"...

...and on the other hand that "Where a pre-announcement has specified that the information would be released during a specified period (e.g. a week, or longer time period), but did not specify a precise day, releases should not be published within the election period."

Either way, this information for expenditure over £500 should have been published three months ago, well before the General Election was announced and the Greater Manchester Mayor Election was underway.

See also previous related Salford Star article: Homeless Highlight City Inequality in Shadow of Huge Developments - click here