The public accounts committee has
described the failure to enforce
ethical standards as
'one of the
worst cases of conflict of interest
that the committee has seen to date'
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SOUTH NORFOLK MP Richard Bacon MP has expressed dismay that the people of Northern Ireland have again been let down badly by the province's top officials, as the Commons public accounts committee published a report into the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment's governance of its Local Enterprise Development Unit (LEDU).
The report describes how the Department's failure to enforce proper ethical standards resulted in one of the worst cases of conflict of interest that the committee has seen to date. |
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The Emerging Business Trust (EBT) was set up in 1996 to provide loans and, later, equity finance to small businesses in the province and received £4.35 million in public funds.
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The Deputy Chair of LEDU's board, Mrs Teresa Townsley, together with her
husband, were the only partners in an accountancy practice which was
appointed, without proper tendering, as managers of EBT, receiving £1.4
million in fees between 1997 and 2005.
Mr Bacon, a member of the committee, said today: "Because Northern
Ireland is a relatively small society, the opportunity for conflicts of
interest to arise will always be present. Taxpayers should therefore
expect the province's senior civil servants to be particularly vigilant
in safeguarding proper standards. I am dismayed that the people of
Northern Ireland have yet again been let down badly by those who are
supposed to ensure the proper use of public money".
18 May 2006
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PAC REPORT: