Alan Dransfield's Blog

Email sent 15 August 2014 07:26

Mr Bobby Brown
National Health & Safety Manager
Balfour Beatty Group( BBG)

Dear
Mr Brown

As you are aware, the Exeter Chiefs Rugby Ground has been chosen as
a venue for next years World Cup.

The current crowd capacity of 10K will be
doubled by the ongoing stadium expansion project, which I appreciate is not
being carried out by the BBG.

However, owing to the criminal negligence by
the BBG the new stadium will also be non – compliant to Lightning Protection
standards ie BS/EN62305 /2006. Ditto for the adjacent Pedestrian
Bridge.

You have been fully aware of the dangers at the Exeter Chiefs Rugby
Ground since at least 2009, when we met personally along with Vicky Skeen, the
BBG HR Manager, to discuss this and other H/S issues including the 6 PFI schools
in Exeter and Network Rail safety issues inter alia.

Please feel free to
contact me should you need further clarification. Your SW Regional Manager, Mr
Andy MacAdam, has known about these irregularities and anomalies for at least a decade.

For your information, action and files.

Yours
sincerely

Alan M Dransfield

Dear FoI Officer

Thank you for your response, which I will pass on
to the people fighting blacklisting. But I have to ask, why did LibDem Council
Leader, Councillor Derbyshire, make a promise in the full council meeting not to
use blacklisting firms and then promptly gives one a £350m contract? LibDems
eh! If their lips are moving they are lying.

Kind regards

Sheila

From: FOI Officer

To: Sheila Oliver ; FOI Officer

Sent: Wednesday, August 13, 2014 11:14 AM

Subject: RE: Early contractor involvment – “Cheadle Constituency Link Road” – ref 9178 – Response

Dear Mrs Oliver,

I am writing in response to your request for information (ref FOI 9178) regarding the above.

The information has been prepared by the relevant Council service and is as follows:

Under the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 there is only one relevant discretionary ground for excluding a contractor where blacklisting is alleged to have taken place and that is if the bidding organisation has committed an act of grave misconduct in the course of its business or profession. However, in such cases the Local Authority is obliged to consider mitigating circumstances and to permit economic operators to demonstrate “self-cleaning”.

Of the major companies implicated in blacklisting, Balfour Beatty, Carillion, Costain, Kier, Laing O’Rourke, Sir Robert McAlpine, Skanska UK and Vinci Construction have all apologised for their involvement with The Consulting Association (the company operating the database) and any impact that its database may have had on any individual construction worker. These companies have joined together to make amends by establishing a Construction Workers’ Compensation Scheme. The scheme is intended to make it as simple as possible for any worker with a legitimate claim to access compensation. Carillion maintain their involvement came about through its subsidiary Crown House, which was sold to Laing O’Rourke in 2004. They argue that the practice of using the database was to identify workers involved in criminal offences and unlawful strike activity.

Yours sincerely,

Marianne Lavin
CSS Senior Officer
Information Governance Team
Stockport Council
Stockport SK1 3XE
Tel : 0161 474 4048

Email sent 14 August 2014 15:24

Dear Mr Bradshaw

Please see the attached document from 2009 which clearly
stated the Devon County Council would undertake Lighting Risk Assessment for all schools. As you
are aware, none of the Devon schools under the DCC has had Lighting Risk
Assessment carried out.

As you are aware, such failure is in breach of duty
of care, it is in breach of all Health & Safety Executive guidelines and is in breach of Lightning
Protection standards BS/EN 62305.

Would you be so kind as to write to the DCC
Chief Executive Officer to ask him why this Lightning Risk Assessment has not been conducted,
please excuse the pun.

With thanks

Yours sincerely

Alan M
Dransfield