29 March (Part 2) - Amey down the toilet
There is only one notable thing left unreported from last Wednesday’s Scrutiny
Committee meeting and that is Amey. Who is Amey? Among other things it is a
facilities management company and
Bexley Council became involved with it in 2015.
The plan was - when was it anything else? - to save money by getting Amey
to do all the Council’s odd jobs from running the reception desk through school meals to cleaning the
Civic Office’s loos. They attend to the housework at 26 Council sites.
Things have not worked out well although the scale of 2015’s poor decision gets
nowhere near competing with Conservative Barnet’s decision to hand over pretty
well every damned thing to Capita. An all eggs in one basket decision which has
brought Barnet to its financial knees.
Bexley Council may be daft at times but it is a long way from being that daft.
Here are a couple of choice comments from the meeting.
“Amey did not impress.”
“Amey are not too interested or engaged with us.”
As you might expect the contract is going out to tender again at the first opportunity which is next year.
I asked the doorman on the way out if he knew what was being said in the
chamber. He did and he was happy with it, so all’s good.