Moray Council's head of procurement knew nothing about £235k nursery cabins purchase
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Moray Council’s head of procurement has said she knew nothing at the time about a pair of cabins bought for £235,000.
The units were purchased to house children attending Aberlour Primary School nursery during a £1million refurbishment.
However, the cabins were never used for that purpose, and the council is now looking to sell them.
The issue was raised during discussions yesterday about the council’s annual procurement report.
Derek Ross (Speyside/Glenlivet, Independent) highlighted a section of the document which states that procedures must be followed by all officers without exception, and tender opportunities should be fair and transparent.
Cllr Ross said: "We’ve had a case in this council where that has clearly not been adhered to.
"I hope when the audit and scrutiny committee looks at this, they look at the procurement of the cabins in the early learning sector for Aberlour.
"Because it was distressing for the public that this has been allowed to happen."
Cllr Ross also asked if there was any progress in selling the cabins and recouping some of the money.
Payments manager Diane Beattie told the meeting her department checks all contracts over £50,000.
She said: "We didn’t know anything about it.
"Normally our workload is determined by the annual procurement plan, but not everything can be planned.
"About 60% of our work at the moment is unplanned, so we expect officers to request support from ourselves when work is under way.
"Unfortunately in the incident you’re talking about, it never came in our direction."
An investigation into the purchase of the units recommended selling them as a matter of urgency.
The refurbishment of the nursery in Aberlour is part of Moray Council’s £55 million expansion of its early years service.
Children and staff have re-located to nearby Speyside High School since the start of the new term.
They are expected to stay there for around eight weeks while the work is completed.
The refurbishment was originally supposed to begin in August 2020 but was delayed due to the pandemic.
An order to buy the temporary cabins was issued in March 2021.
The idea was for one cabin to be sited in the grounds of Aberlour Primary and the other at Speyside High.
However, in May 2021, safety issued were highlighted over the classroom at the secondary school being near the car park.
