Christmas Lights with £19,000 Worth of Health and Safety

Click on image to enlarge

At the City Development Committee meeting last night, a report had been added to the agenda recommending acceptance of a tender:
Christmas Lights 2012 - Erection of Trees, Lights and Decorations

Of the £159,093.75 cost of the contract, £25,968.75 was for allowances of which 19,968.75 was for Professional Services ie 12.5% or one eighth of the overall cost.

Incidentally, I received this report in my mail tray on the afternoon of the meeting which left no time for advance questions to senior members of staff.

The proposed contract involved "the erection and connection of the Christmas lighting equipment and features with supply cables as required at:
Dundee City Centre, Westport, Seabraes, Stobswell, Lochee High Street and bypass roundabout, Whitfield Police Station, Broughty Ferry Library and Brook Street including the erection of main City Centre Tree and associated satellite Christmas trees and garlands." 
This list indicated the same locations as last year. I also knew that the Council had purchased some new lights for the City Centre in recent years.

This is what I asked at the meeting and the reply I received:

My Question
"I welcome this report and the repeat programme of Christmas lights and trees that is proposed throughout the city, including Broughty Ferry, for this Christmas. These are much appreciated and enjoyed by residents and visitors to our city. I am puzzled however how in this report £19,000 worth of technical services is justified for what is essentially a repeat programme? It will be the same lights, and decorations, same locations to put up the Christmas decorations. How can this be justified?"

The answer I received from the Director of City Development was that there was a considerable volume of health and safety matters associated with this work to plan and supervise. 

After the meeting it occurred to me that it had a been a good thing that health and safety regulations had been a little more lax when the Innkeeper in Bethlehem offered Mary and Joseph overnight accommodation in the stable.

Notwithstanding that thought, I will be pursuing this with Mike Galloway, Director of City Development. I shall also be complaining to the Chief Executive, David Dorward, about late circulation of reports which hampers the scrutiny by Councillors.