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Council blames BT for CCTV failings




Council review determines CCTV switch-over problems were caused by BT

WEST Berkshire Council has pointed the finger at telecommunications giant BT and said it was to blame for the problems which plagued the switch-over of the authority's CCTV network, which left parts of the district uncovered for months despite assurances to the contrary.

A report which went before the council's Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee on Thursday was the culmination of an internal investigation into the debacle of the CCTV hub's move from Newbury to Windsor and Maidenhead which played out over several months.

Nearly six months after its scheduled operational date, it has also emerged that some cameras are still not working.

The report, compiled by the council's chief internal auditor Ian Priestley, said that BT did not honour its contractual obligations in providing the service that was agreed between the parties.

The council officer responsible for the CCTV switch-over, head of policy and communications Andy Day, also blamed contractor failure for many of the problems, adding that “severe weather issues” had not helped.

Our sister publication the Newbury Weekly News pressed the council repeatedly over the Christmas period and into March to unearth why the project had not been completed and why traders in Newbury were being told CCTV cameras were operational when reported crimes were apparently not being filmed.

Council officials maintained the stance that ”severe weather” had caused a slight delay which had resulted in telemetry issues and that status of the cameras would not be revealed “for reasons of security”.

No mention of contractual issues or problems with BT were disclosed to the press at the time.

West Berkshire Council also claimed in March that “all but one” CCTV cameras in Newbury were operational.

The report has detailed other factors for the delay including:

• A council oversight regarding the tendering of the contract lead to delays in starting the switch-over.

• The “complexity of the task”.

• The decision to leave the old CCTV system operational up until the point of switch-over.

• The locations of some of the cables supporting the old CCTV system were unknown.

An outline of the project plan also showed that several key tasks were completed late, such as the upgrade of the cameras, the installation of the software and the connection of the Pub Watch and Shop Safe schemes with the Windsor and Maidenhead control room.

During the meeting, Mr Day and his team were pressed for answers as to what caused the delays that had led to public concern, but Mr Day told councillors that he and his team had done nothing wrong and denied that there was, in fact, any public concern.

However, Liberal Democrat panel members accused the Conservative administration and Mr Day of failing to put proper safeguards in place, namely failing to negotiate a satisfactory contract with BT, a major contractor, which was blamed for not providing the agreed links between the cameras and the control room.

Councillor David Rendel (Lib Dem, Thatcham Central) expressed surprise that the contract did not stipulate that breaches would lead to compensation, to which the Conservative councillor responsible for overseeing the project Anthony Stansfeld (Con, Kintbury) said: “Unfortunately we were dealing with a monopoly. We had a standard contract.”

Mr Rendel said that by not renegotiating the standard contract, the council had left itself open to abuse.

BT was not present at the meeting, but said it was “disappointed” to hear the criticism from the council.

A spokeswoman for BT, Emma Littlejohn, said: “We worked hard during some difficult weather conditions over the Christmas and new year period to deliver this project.

“We are disappointed to hear these concerns from West Berkshire and we would be more than happy to meet them to discuss the issues raised.”



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