And state that no legal claims or financial demands have been made by contractor
There has been much speculation recently about the future provision of services currently run by CIP. Commenting on the situation, a spokesman for Hounslow Council, said, "The Council is confident that services will continue to be provided by CIP up to the end of the current contract after which new contractors will assume responsibility."
The CIP group of companies have run Hounslow's leisure and cultural services since 1998 under contracts which will expire at the end of June 2008. In preparation for the expiration of these contracts, the Council was legally obliged to conduct a European public procurement exercise which began last year.
This exercise seeks to select the best contractor(s) to run these services from the 1st July 2008. A meticulous examination of every aspect of a contractor’s ability to provide these services and value for money is being carried out and the residents of Hounslow should expect nothing less.
As is common in these public procurement exercises some contractors fall out of the competition along the way for any number of reasons and, unfortunately, the CIP Group was de-selected along with a number of other potential contractors. While we understand this has caused disappointment, this decision was made legitimately as part of the competetive process after a lengthy series of meetings and written submissions.
The Council is now in the final stages of the exercise and new contractors will be appointed and be operating by the summer.
The council spokesperson continued, "We can assure residents that when the new contractors are in place, the Council will work with them to deliver high-quality services, and have in place measures to ensure that all contracted services are monitored effectively. We are confident this process will result in improved leisure and cultural services for everyone in the London Borough of Hounslow."
Regarding the claim that CIP have begun legal proceedings and are demanding £11m from the Council in compensation, the Council stated that "there has never been an official claim from CIP ie. a writ or other properly formulated demand."
April 11, 2008
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