The five year extension builds on the original £1 billion, 25-year contract awarded to Veolia 2003, and covers the management of residual waste across the five district and borough councils in East Sussex, with the development of the Newhaven incinerator being one element of that (see letsrecycle.com story).
Mr Baker, MP for Lewes, said that he had received a letter from the European Commission outlining how it intended to initiate infringement proceedings through the UK government to assess whether the local authorities failed to comply with European Commission rules relating to autonomous and new public contract awards.
In the letter, he said that Commissioner Loizos Loizou said: “The Commission has…decided to instigate infringement proceedings pursuant to Article 226 of the EC Treaty, by sending a formal notice (LFN) to the UK government.
“The £35 million worth contract does not appear to constitute a lawful extension to the original contract but constitutes instead an autonomous and new public contract, which should have been tendered out in accordance with the EC rules. The failure to do so, suggests that the…councils have failed to comply with these rules.”
Commenting on the issue, Mr Baker said: “As a basic minimum the Conservative administration should have put the contract extension out to tender to get value for money. Instead they were determined to award the multi-million pound deal to their friends at Veolia.”
Sharon Bowles, the Liberal Democrat MEP for South East England, added: “Questions have always surrounded the legality of the ‘closed-door' and undemocratic way in which the extension was awarded. Almost everyone in Newhaven has opposed the site of the incinerator and the extension was an added blow to the town. I, along with the Newhaven community will now wait to hear the outcome.”
Refuted
However, East Sussex county council and Brighton and Hove city council has refuted claims by local MPs that the European Commission had upheld the MPs' complaints surrounding the legality of extension of the waste deal.
A joint statement released by East Sussex county council and Brighton & Hove city council said: “It is not accurate to say that the Commission has upheld the complaint made by Norman Baker MP and Sharon Bowles MEP.”
“The Commission has written to the UK Government to advise that they consider that the extension to the original contract represents a material change and should have been tendered out in accordance with EC public procurement rules. However, the Commission has invited the UK Government to submit its observations on this view,” it added.
The councils also defended the manner in which Veolia was given the extension.
They said: “We took legal opinion at the time, which advised that it was a reasonable course of action not to go out to tender. There has not been an EU ruling to respond to but, through the UK government; we are assisting in responding to the request for information within the time scale the Commission has set.”
Newhaven
The controversy surrounding the contract award by East Sussex and Brighton comes in the wake of long-running controversy over Veolia's energy-from-waste facility at Newhaven, which appeared to overcome its last major hurdle with the award of its Pollution, Prevention & Control (PPC) Permit at the end of March (see letsrecycle.com story). The proposal is fiercely opposed by Mr Baker.
A spokesperson for Veolia told letsrecycle.com: “We await the outcome of the EU ruling in due course. We will be continuing with our construction programme for much needed waste management facilities in East Sussex including the Energy Recovery Facility for residual waste and the Composting Facility for green garden waste.'
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