Imagine the scene … a local council in the West Midlands decides the best way to deliver services to taxpayers is to set up a private limited company that doesn’t have to comply with the Freedom of Information Act and can operate in secrecy because of “commercial interests”.  They can throw vast sums of money at this company and nobody will know where it’s gone.

Genius.

Except they thought they could get away with doing it all in secret but they were caught out.  Two local residents registered the company name which the council had intended to use and told them that they coudn’t have it back until they’d come clean and told residents what they were doing with their money (currently £1.3m).

The council refused and changed the name of the company.

English Partnerships currently own about 80% of the development land around this town and had agreed to transfer the assets to this private company.  “A public body is allowed to transfer public assets to a private limited company?” I hear you cry.  Well they seem to think they can.

Small problem though – nobody thought to tell English Partnerships about the change of name and they appear to have transferred the assets to the company using the name that was originally intended.  It would appear that two residents now own (albeit very temporarily I imagine) 80% of the development land around the town!

I’ve just had a call from English Partnerships claiming that it is eronious information on a website that they are currently seeking to remove.  The information (complete with link) is from the Department for Communities and Local Government and the owner of the website hasn’t heard a peep out of English Partnerships.

All will be revealed as events unfold.