Monday 7 October 2013

We're spending how much on streetlights?



I was recently having a look at the council’s 3 monthly finance reports, which detail the day to day amounts that were being spent by them on various expenses. You can see the latest example at
   
I’d heard there was a Street lighting contract in place for Street lighting and signage, so I wanted to see how much it cost?

One line intrigued me:- Here it is in the Expenditure over £500 Q1 Apr to Jun 2013 (CSV) document (Excel), Line 2538, under the expenses of the Highways and Transport division. A company called Connect Roads Sunderland was being paid £472,435.54 on 5/4/2013. A further examination of the document showed that on line 2643, a payment of £472,435.54 on 3/5/2013 and on line 2750, 472615.54 were also paid to this company. Could this be right? About £450K/month  for street lighting – equipment/furniture/materials. It wasn’t for electricity, because that’s a separate item of about £200K (seasonally variable) on the document. 

 

Hang on! How much are they paying Connect every year?

 

CONNECT ROADS SUNDERLAND LTD
5121548549
04.07.2012
458,758.74
CONNECT ROADS SUNDERLAND LTD
5121560509
03.08.2012
458,837.92
CONNECT ROADS SUNDERLAND LTD
5121573352
13.09.2012
449,017.68
CONNECT ROADS SUNDERLAND LTD
5121580795
03.10.2012
472,088.08
CONNECT ROADS SUNDERLAND LTD
5121593372
05.11.2012
472,332.04
CONNECT ROADS SUNDERLAND LTD
5121605408
05.12.2012
472,332.04
CONNECT ROADS SUNDERLAND LTD
5121614166
04.01.2013
472,428.79
CONNECT ROADS SUNDERLAND LTD
5121626944
07.02.2013
472,428.79
CONNECT ROADS SUNDERLAND LTD
5121636470
06.03.2013
472,428.79
CONNECT ROADS SUNDERLAND LTD
5121648466
05.04.2013
472,435.54
CONNECT ROADS SUNDERLAND LTD
5121658625
03.05.2013
472,435.54
CONNECT ROADS SUNDERLAND LTD
5121669164
05.06.2013
472,615.54

Annual Total (July 2012 to June 2013)
5,618,139.49

 

The PFI started in 2003 and runs for 25 years according to the Sunderland Council website, so at about £5.6 million a year, that works out at approximately £140 million!!!

So who is this company? Here’s their website

http://www.connectroads.com/street_lighting.html?&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=17&tx_ttnews[backPid]=8&cHash=98328e0b3c


I quote:-
In August 2003 Connect Roads Sunderland was awarded the contract to design, finance, provide and maintain the street lighting and highway signs for 25 years. The existing workforce was transferred under TUPE regulations from the City of Sunderland Council.

The project comprises a 5 year Core Investment Programme and a 25 year Maintenance Programme.

 

The Core Investment Programme involves the replacement of 30,500 street lighting columns and 6,000 highway signs in accordance with the latest European standards.

 

The Term Maintenance Programme involves a planned maintenance approach, replacing lamps in street lights on expiry of a specific time period rather than at the point of lamp failure, thereby reducing the number of overall lights out at any point in time
  • Addition of 3500 columns
  • 13,600 highway signs, bollards and subway lights
  • 45,000 streetlights
  • Replacement of 70% of Sunderland's street lights (not ALL)

A company check found:-
The latest Annual Accounts submitted to Companies House for the year up to 31/12/2012 reported 'cash at bank' of £1,501,000, 'liabilities' worth £1,632,000, 'net worth' of £1,751,000 and 'assets' worth £2,666,000.

(and the ultimate parent company was Balfour Beatty Ltd).

However, if you go to the Sunderland Council website, the people you report street-light faults to are Aurora Streetlighting: Balfour Beatty. http://www.auroraltd.com/whose website states:-

Aurora is the appointed Asset Management Contractor for the Sunderland Street Lighting and Highway Signs PFI Project.

The project comprises of a five year Core Investment Programme and a twenty year Term Maintenance Programme.

 

Two companies, or an arrangement for tax?  Anyway, I found from a FOI enquiry that:-  the contract is with Connect Roads Sunderland Limited and therefore any payment due from the Council is payable to that entity. The delivery contractor is Aurora Sunderland Streetlighting Limited hence why they are providing the services.  


One query cleared up. However, why such a hefty cost? My FOI enquiry showed that:-


The principle of a Street Lighting PFI is that the Contractor obtains the finance to fund the initial investment programme, this funding is then repaid over the duration of the PFI, in effect a mortgage. The monthly payment covers this repayment as well as the ongoing planned and responsive maintenance works. Annual faults reported during the last full contract year was 14,481 (this is all PFI faults and represents faulty units, that is, an underground cable fault affecting 20 units is 20 faults) faults are from all sources which include from the public either through the Council or direct to Aurora, faults reported by the Council and faults picked up by Aurora as part of their night-time scouting.


So as well as maintenance, there was an initial investment by Connect, to replace street furniture etc. A document from Sunderland Council – the Street lighting Progress Report of 2/4/2012 says that:-


In the first five years of the contract Aurora invested over £30m in providing the city with nearly 31,000 lighting units and 4000 highway signs. Since the completion of this work, Aurora has focused their resources on the operation and maintenance aspects of the service as well as assessing the requirement, based on risk, for a future replacement programme.


So Connect spends £30 million, does maintenance on the brand new items for 25 years and gets paid £140 million. Sounds like a good return! There is a proviso that, “Whilst Aurora’s report highlights its performance against the contractual standards, there is more focus on innovation and the examination of more energy efficient technology which if adopted will assist in reducing the city’s carbon footprint and energy costs.”


Note:-  Maintenance consists of “visual inspections” and “ a rolling 4 year replacement cycle.” In other words, replacing all bulbs, even if they are still working. Some people might call that wasteful! This doesn’t even cover electrical faults:-  an area of concern was the response to lighting faults caused by electrical supply failure which is the responsibility of Northern Powergrid (formerly NEDL).” (Street lighting Progress Report of 2/4/2012)


So in summary, Sunderland is paying £140 million for their street lights and signs in a fixed contract for 25 years. This contract was drawn up under the heady spend, spend, spend days of New Labour, and there is no possibility of getting out of it. No austerity there then! No consideration that in the years following, there may have to be financial savings made by the council. No chance of that with this contract! Not a single light bulb will be cheaper. Not a bulb will be left alone because it's working and doesn't need replacing.



I throw this final thought into the mix:-


Some streetlights weren’t replaced, such as those in Allendale Road, Farringdon, and these are now “crumbling.” The latest St Chad’s Labour Party newsletter proudly announces that our trusty Labour councillors claim they have finally obtained the go-ahead for their replacement! Who pays?

 Performance Standard 1- related to installations of new columns during the Core Investment Period (Applicable years 1 to 5 of the project).There is therefore no requirement to measure performance against this standard.  (Street lighting Progress Report of 2/4/2012)


**************************

Here’s a copy of my FOI request.


Dear Sunderland City Council,

1. Could you please confirm that the holder of the PFI contract for street lighting and signage in Sunderland is Connect Roads Sunderland Limited, a member of the Balfour Beatty group of companies, as they claim on their website (see link below).

The company Aurora Sunderland Streetlighting Limited, another of the Balfour Beatty group, also claims to hold this contract on its website, and is referenced on the council website under street lighting information. Could you please therefore clarify which company is the legal holder of the PFI contract?

Response
The contracted supplier for the PFI Contract for Street Lighting and Signage is Connect
Roads Sunderland Limited. Aurora Sunderland Streetlighting Limited are their project delivery contractor.

2. On the council website, under the transparency section: Payments over £500, it appears that Connect Roads Sunderland is in receipt of large payments for street lighting services. For example in document “Expenditure over £500 Q1 Apr to Jun 2013 (CSV): Line 2538 (street lighting),” Connect Roads Sunderland Limited is in receipt of £ 472,435.54 for Equipment/furniture/materials.

In every month dating back to October 2010, which is the limit of the available public records, a sum of the order of approximately £450,000 is paid to this company. In the example document cited,
Aurora does not appear in the street lighting section. Am I therefore correct in assuming that this is the PFI payment? Why the use of two separate legal entities for fault repair and payment?

Response
As referred to under the response to question 1 the contract is with Connect Roads Sunderland Limited and therefore any payment due from the Council is payable to that entity. The delivery contractor is Aurora Sunderland Streetlighting Limited hence why they are providing the services.  

3. Since the replacement of the majority of the street lights in Sunderland occurred in the first 5 years of the contract which began in 2003, according to the Connect Roads Sunderland Limited website, what costs £450,000 a month? Is it just bulbs and the occasional replacement due to accident, or other failure? (I am led to believe that wiring is the responsibility of the electricity supplier, and power costs are a separate entry in the expenses document.) What is the failure rate of street lights in Sunderland? (The annual number of street light failures reported via the council website will be acceptable).

Response
The principle of a Street Lighting PFI is that the Contractor obtains the finance to fund the initial investment programme, this funding is then repaid over the duration ofthe PFI, in effect a mortgage. The monthly payment covers this repayment as well as the ongoing planned and responsive maintenance works. Annual faults reported during the last full contract year was 14,481 (this is all PFI faults and represents faulty units, that is, an underground cable fault affecting 20 units is 20 faults) faults are from all sources which include from the public either through the Council or direct to Aurora, faults reported by the Council and faults picked up by Aurora as part of their night-time scouting.

4. Has there been any Sunderland investigation into whether it is value for money to replace lamps in street lights on expiry of a specific time period rather than at the point of lamp failure? I don’t require a copy of this, but just to know whether it was considered at any point?

Response
All replacement options were considered as part of the business case for the PFI.

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/pfi_contract_for_street_lighting2

 © Sunderland City Council. This procurement data is licensed under the Open Government Licence

Saturday 5 October 2013

Sunderland Pupil Premium



Here's an update on the recent pupil premium won for Sunderland schools by the Liberal Democrats in government.  These are the actual figures for the past 3 years of the Coalition. As you can see, the figures show a net increase in payments. Generally, the payment is related to the number of pupils in the school, with one or two exceptions, possibly for special projects/building work. I had to download individually!


Name of School
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
36,112
59,185
74,100
Academy 360
223,992
379,407
522,300
n/a
n/a
n/a
47,824
84,105
116,400
27,328
37,007
49,800
13,664
28,035
40,500
n/a
n/a
17,100
n/a
74,014
123,000
72,712
170,079
283,200
11,224
16,325
28,800
42,944
61,054
84,600
15,616
36,757
51,300
36,112
69,280
100,200
20,008
40,495
53,100
111,264
208,082
288,600
12,200
22,428
35,100
17,080
38,253
63,900
14,835
20,559
27,900
26,352
49,217
71,100
65,504
100,803
162,900
52,416
87,843
144,000
48,912
68,657
105,300
n/a
n/a
56,700
9,272
19,313
28,800
25,376
41,118
62,100
n/a
n/a
53,400
80,032
159,615
236,100
n/a
n/a
127,500
18,080
28,912
40,200
Fulwell Infant School
n/a
n/a
24,900
9,960
22,678
33,900
50,264
90,335
131,400
29,768
41,741
63,900
35,624
59,933
83,700
43,920
79,744
116,700
Grindon Hall Christian School
n/a
n/a
31,800
n/a
n/a
141,300
22,448
38,626
56,700
98,576
192,757
267,600
68,232
111,394
182,100
13,864
24,547
39,600
n/a
n/a
30,000
n/a
222,042
331,500
55,632
84,728
120,600
50,264
77,875
110,700
51,240
94,073
139,800
26,840
67,042
109,500
23,717
39,872
58,500
32,696
65,665
80,700
71,360
149,647
230,400
29,768
51,709
61,200
18,056
35,511
54,000
28,616
63,550
93,600
6,832
11,837
19,800
n/a
n/a
314,700
35,624
57,939
92,100
34,848
58,562
90,000
n/a
n/a
43,200
104,432
194,999
302,700
n/a
65,042
77,700
43,920
75,010
113,700
21,096
44,610
64,200
27,816
54,451
76,800
131,584
264,779
360,600
45,872
75,383
104,100
38,552
57,316
87,600
n/a
n/a
343,500
94,184
135,441
188,400
14,152
26,789
44,100
7,320
12,460
19,800
40,504
99,930
161,700
20,496
36,757
53,400
St Anthony's RC School
n/a
n/a
196,200
12,200
24,297
35,100
7,320
15,452
19,500
15,616
35,511
50,400
13,176
26,789
32,400
19,520
31,150
48,000
6,832
15,575
25,200
8,296
19,190
27,600
22,448
31,773
51,300
4,880
9,968
14,400
8,208
17,944
26,400
14,640
23,924
34,500
46,848
109,648
165,600
11,712
27,412
33,300
6,832
11,837
24,300
The Cheadle Centre
7,320
15,575
27,900
n/a
n/a
225,000
45,872
79,744
117,900
113,216
189,392
247,500
n/a
62,800
81,900
56,520
97,315
136,800
51,240
70,399
101,700
89,968
134,568
201,600
118,496
221,292
300,000
34,160
64,792
96,300
34,160
56,693
82,800