Perth and Kinross council denies charges of "utter hypocrisy"

CHARGES OF "utter hypocrisy" over the tendering process for materials to promote Perth and Kinross in the run up to the G8 summit at Gleneagles have been vigorously denied by the local authority. Local woman and web design professional Jayne Shenstone was among those hoping to cash-in as the council unveilled its controversial new "Perthshire" brand. She was also delighted when the authority announced plans to release a CD-Rom to promote the area ahead of this summer's summit.

Ms Shenstone, who lives in nearby Auchterarder, spent several weeks working with her husband and a professional photographer on the project only to be snubbed in favour of other firms, none of which are located within Perth and Kinross. "Perth and Kinross council has spent thousands of pounds of taxpayers money on developing a new brand model which seeks to promote Perthshire as one of Scotland's most successful smaller cities," Ms Shenstone said.

"They will be spending many more thousands on the Perthshire Publications which are a lifestyle magazine and interactive CD ROM to be sent to G8 delegates and the world media. How utterly hypocritical of the council then that development of the Perthshire Brand was given to an agency in Edinburgh, the Perthshire Publications go to agencies in Paisley, Glasgow and Oban and the websites for G8 and the new council websites go to Glasgow and Dundee," she continued. "None of the work has gone to local agencies."

Ms Shenstone insisted that, as the local authority claims to be promoting Perthshire, it is in effect failing to practise what it preaches. "In the case of the Perthshire Publications it was a done deal before tenders went out," she said. "Presumably that was the reason why half the companies that received the tender invitation did not bother to reply with a bid. "I am of the opinion that a few local companies were invited to tender so that the council could cover their back and say that local companies had been approached but that nobody was good enough.

" Ms Shenstone is less than impressed with the quality of work displayed by the companies favoured by the council. "What a wasted opportunity for the local council to demonstrate local talent and what a lot of wasted time, effort and money by some local companies in producing high quality creative work for bids that hadn't a hope of winning." she said. "The Perthshire Brand has produced a set of colours which... any school kid with average desktop publishing skills could produce. Who knows what the Perthshire Publications will be like but their choice of suppliers could well be a case of 'the kings new clothes'," Ms Shenstone continued.

"The talent to do all this work is available here in the area by creative talented people who actually know what it is like to live and work in the area. "CD-Roms are my partner's forte and we spent many, many weeks working on submitting a tender we gave it our all and would have been perfectly competent. "We have a lot of experience in these fields and I cannot believe none of the work has gone locally," she added.

When contacted by the Courier, a Perth and Kinross Council spokesman denied any intentional or cynical snubs to local companies. "Perth and Kinross council strongly rebuts any suggestion that decisions to allocate design and marketing projects are made on the basis of anything other than a clear, rigorous and transparent procurement process," he said. "The council is well-aware that creative and talented people live and work in Perth and Kinross and always seeks to ensure that local companies are afforded an opportunity to submit proposals for key projects.

"However, the council is legally required to ensure that it secures value for money and this means that for some projects the skills talent and expertise of those who happen to be located outwith Perthshire are utilised," the spokesman continued. "Twelve Scottish companies, including five from Perthshire, were invited to submit proposals to produce the Perthshire Publication and CD-Rom. "All of those received underwent a robust appraisal. The council's assessment of the submitted proposals aimed to ensure that the sucessful company was able to deliver a high-quality product within an extremely tight timescale."

The spokesman added, "The council has met with a number of local companies to provide detailed feedback on their proposals and to identify opportunities for work in the future." he said. "All decisions were made with reference to the criteria of the tendering process. "The council is confident that appropriate procedures were followed, that the council met its legal responsabilities and fulfilled its duties regarding the successful promotion of the area."

Original story from the Perthshire Courier 23/02/05 written by Dave Lord