ONCE again management of the public purse is questioned as Thurrock Council, under the Conservative Party’s control, has opted to funnel a staggering £800,000 into PwC’s coffers for a mere 22 weeks of service. This decision comes as the council grapples with the task of unearthing £5.2 million in savings for the impending 2024/2025 budget says Thurrock Labour.
Despite a year-long liaison with PwC, the council seems unfazed by the exorbitant price tag attached
to their services. A whopping £800,000 has been pledged for an undertaking with no guaranteed success, leaving a bitter taste of financial imprudence. Unsurprisingly, members of the Thurrock Labour Group have cast a critical eye on this move, deeming the sum unreasonable.
Thurrock Labour have questioned why the Thurrock Conservatives resorted to external entities like PwC, at an eye-watering expense, when the council should be relying on its own members and officers to identify these necessary savings? With no guarantee of PwC success, the decision stands condemned as a misguided allocation of resources.
At yesterday’s (29th November 2023) Full Council meeting, Cllr Martin Kerin, Chair of the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee, challenged the Tory Leader of the Council, Cllr Jefferies on the issue. He asked: “Can the Portfolio Holder could shed light on the rationale behind selecting PwC to assist the council in identifying savings? Considering the awareness of a 10% discount, is there confidence that this represents genuine value for money?”
In response, Leader of the Council, Cllr Andrew Jefferies’s, painted a disconcerting picture. He said: “I think PwC are doing a good job. They’re coming forward with some sensible savings for us. We’re putting in place monthly checks being monitored by officers with actions if slippage starts. We are upskilling staff leaders for the future so they can learn from what PwC have recommended moving forward.” Cllr Jefferies also shared that he believes there would be considerable reputational damage to PwC if they fail to find savings.
However, as we all would know, PwC is not a stranger to reputational damage, over the last couple of years PwC not just in the UK has been under scrutiny for its accounting and auditing failures. We have seen this failing across both the public and private sector. This failure to provide a coherent rationale, his evasion only strengthened the scepticism shrouding this decision.
Cllr Martin Kerin’s official statement: “After grilling the Conservative Leader, Thurrock’s residents will have heard tonight that there is no guarantee that PwC will provide the £5m of savings required for the 2024/25 budget. Despite shelling out £800k for 22 weeks work, Thurrock Council could still be left in the position of having a savings shortfall. – “Thurrock’s residents deserve certainty – it appears that this expensive contract falls far short of that!”
