IN THE NEWS
KNOWSLEY COUNCIL CHIEF LISTED DIRECTOR OF EXECUTIVE CAR COMPANY “IN ERROR”
A senior executive officer at Knowsley Council was accidentally appointed director of a company awarded £1m a year in council funds, a spokesperson has said. Executive director for communities and neighbourhoods, Andrew Donaldson, was registered with Companies House as a director of Supreme Executive Cars Ltd (SEC) in January of this year. SEC is one of a consortium of companies awarded a lucrative council contract to provide home- to-school transport for children in Knowsley in June 2020 with the deal worth in excess of £10m over a five-year period. Last year, the company received nearly £1m in payments from Knowsley Council. Concerns had been raised with the Local Democracy Reporter Service (LDRS) about the presence of Mr Donaldson on the board of the company, amid fears this could impact on the council’s reputation around fairness and impartiality and present a potential conflict of interest. The council was asked whether Mr Donaldson, who joined the council in April 2021 and is understood to deputise on occasion for the chief executive Mike Harden in his absence, had sought permission and disclosed he was a director of the company in line with the council’s code of conduct for officers. The council was also asked whether it had any concerns about Mr Donaldson’s position in the company given his senior role at the council. Responding to those queries, a Knowsley Council spokesperson
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said that Mr Donaldson had been register- ed as a director of the company “in error” and would now be removed and Companies House records show that he was removed as director of the company on March 3. Mr Donaldson is also listed as a director for Knowsley Develop- ment Trust Ltd (KDT), which runs Knowsley business park. He joined the board of directors of that company in April 2022. SEC is “linked” with KDT via its parent organisation Your Travel Borough Wide Ltd (YTBW). YTBW is a charity limited by guarantee which was set up in 2004 by the directors of KDT. The chief executive of YTBW is seconded to the charity from KDT, according to its most recent annual accounts.
YTBW bought SEC in 2018, which is now a wholly-owned subsidiary company. This decision was connected to new requirements around permits for drivers, according to company records. YTBW was previously part of a consortium awarded the home-to- school transport contract by Knowsley Council in 2017. When the contract was being renewed in 2020, YTBW was replaced by SEC in the contract. Referring to
Mr Donaldson’s
directorship of KDT, the council spokesperson said this had been disclosed and permission granted by the council for him to take up the role.
The council said his role with the company was “voluntary” and added that Mr Donaldson is not involved in any contract decisions in relation to the company as part of his role with Knowsley Council. The spokesperson said: “Mr Donaldson is a Board member of KDT (a linked organisation to SEC) “His role on the Board of KDT has been declared formally by Mr Donaldson at the time of the appointment. This has been approved in line with the Council’s Declarations of Personal Interest Policy which supports the Council’s Officer Code of Conduct. “Mr Donaldson is not paid for this voluntary role and is not involved in, or responsible for, any contractual decisions relating to KDT as part of his employment as the Executive Director of Communities & Neighbourhoods at Knowsley Council.” The spokesperson continued: “SEC is a related organisation to KDT and unfortunately, in error, Mr Donaldson has been listed as a director of this company too. “This is not the case and KDT is amending its records and removing Mr Donaldson from its listing on Companies House.” KDT director, Steve Dumbell, who is also a director of YTBW and SEC told the LDRS: “I can confirm that Mr Andrew Donaldson is a valued Board Member of KDT. He is not however and never has been a director of Supreme Executive Travel Limited.
“I can only apologise to Mr Donaldson for this error and for any confusion or issues that have been caused as a result.”
APRIL 2023 PHTM
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