Will Carillion debacle hit Somerset County Council?
Following the rapid demise of Carillion, we got in touch with Somerset County Council this morning to ascertain what the impact would be for tax payers in Somerset. Specifically we asked the following:
How (if at all) SCC believe the liquidation of Carillion will impact the ongoing negotiations on the costs of the Northern Inner Distributor Road (in Taunton)?
Can SCC confirm it has not paid over the full contract price to Carillion?
Can SCC confirm if it has any other contracts with Carillion live as of today?
In the last hour we received the following statement from SCC Leader David Fothergill who told us “Our thoughts are with all Carillion’s employees and their subcontractors who will be understandably concerned about the future. However, today’s announcement would seem to reflect the difficult relationship that we have had with them as a contractor.
We are fortunate that the NIDR has been completed, though it was of course subject to major delays. We remain in dispute with Carillion and have repeatedly and robustly resisted its excessive and inflated claims for costs. We also still have a substantial claim against Carillion for delays and will continue to pursue this.
This is a developing situation and we will be working with the official receivers to resolve this matter as soon as possible”.
Rest assured we shall be following this story closely.