A review of the process that led to the domestic abuse charity RISE losing key council contracts should “leave no stone unturned”, councillors urged.
They also called on officials to respond promptly to requests for information as a working group prepares to look into the latest procurement wrangle at Brighton and Hove City Council.
RISE lost two contracts to provide a refuge, helpline and legal support for victims of domestic violence and abuse. The contracts were worth £5 million over seven years.
A petition signed by more than 30,000 people called on the council to help fund RISE and help the charity find new premises.
Conservative councillor Robert Nemeth told colleagues on Thursday night (25 March) that he and Green councillor Pete West had spelt out concerns about the proposed changes, initially voting them down at a committee meeting.
And he shared extracts from the minutes of two meetings in 2018 in support of his claims – as well as details of the reassurances that were offered to councillors.
But he said: “None of what was agreed happened and the suggestion seems to be that there is no system currently in place within the council to ensure that the outcomes of votes – ultimately, resolutions of full council, committees and member working groups – are carried out.
“I was shocked to hear this as it strikes me that such a mechanism should be a fundamental part of the workings of an organisation like ours. This issue alone requires great investigation.”
The apparent failure of officials to act on councillors’ instructions resembled the start of an earlier procurement fiasco involving the council’s home to school transport service.
Questions remain to be answered publicly on the way in which senior officials were able to circumvent a decision by a committee of the most senior members of the council.
On Thursday night, Councillor Nemeth asked a meeting of the full council to support a motion in support of RISE, which was set up in Brighton 26 years ago.
The motion said: “This council notes that the Policy and Resources Committee is in the process of establishing a cross-party Member Working Group to review commissioning and procurement practices including those relating to domestic violence services.”
The motion called on the working group “to leave no stone unturned in getting to the bottom of the decisions, procedures and processes that led to the current unsatisfactory situation”.
And it requested that officials “expedite any requests for information that are made by either councillors or members of the public … through ‘freedom of information’ requests or other means”.
Councillor Nemeth said: “I read a tweet yesterday (Wednesday 24 March), written by the CEO of RISE UK, that was pretty much the saddest tweet that I’m going to see for some time.
“I quote: ‘Today is a hard day. We will be saying goodbyes to a big part of RISE UK. We will be celebrating the successes in our 26 years and thanking the staff who are moving on to work with the new providers or to other jobs. A day for reflection, a few tears, some laughs and hope.’”
Councillor Nemeth added: “The RISE issue is concerning as there are expressions of support from all quarters. If we all feel the same way, why is this happening in front of our very eyes?”
He also said that some of RISE’s biggest cheerleaders were responsible for the policy that resulted in the charity losing its contracts to Victim Support and social housing provider Stonewater.
Councillor Amanda Evans said that Labour supported Councillor Nemeth’s motion as councillors agreed on the central point “despite party political posturing”.
She said: “We need to behave with thoroughness, transparency and integrity. We need, as a council, to get to the bottom of what happened here and what lessons can be learned from it – even if that involves members, officers or both being uncomfortable as we hold a mirror up to our procedures.”
Green councillor Steph Powell said that she recognised the value of RISE to Brighton and Hove and added: “We have met with RISE and the petitioners, the result of which was our Green amendment to the budget to provided more funds to support them, and thanks to all councillors, that was agreed.
“We Greens are keen as any of you to get to the bottom of how this particular decision was made which is precisely why I requested a cross-party members’ group be established.”
Councillor Nemeth’s motion was passed unanimously.
Once the working group has completed its investigation, it is expected to report its findings and recommendations to the council’s Policy and Resources Committee.
