Government at risk of another Carillion-style failure, warns report March 4, 2020 The government is at risk of another Carillion-style collapse if it does not support the reforms proposed after the outsourcing giant’s collapse two years ago. In a new report, the Institute for Government (IfG) has said that the government has “not consistently” followed the Cabinet Office’s new guidelines as to how large contracts are awarded [...]
Carillion two years on: ‘Misery’ as major hospitals in Liverpool and Birmingham still unfinished January 17, 2020 The government has faced yet another round of criticism for its handling of the collapse of outsourcer Carillion, more than two years after the company failed – this time over two hospitals it was building when it went bust. The government spending watchdog said in a report that the hospitals, in Liverpool and the west [...]
Construction disputes rise as Carillion fallout continues to hurt industry December 5, 2019 The number of construction disputes in the High Court has increased in the last year, as contractors struggle with tougher trading conditions, according to research. The UK’s specialist Technology & Construction Court (TCC) heard 397 construction related disputes in the year ending 30 June, the third consecutive annual rise. Read more: Reforming public procurement can [...]
Carillion saga continues: Watchdog probes Whitehall salvage attempts on unfinished hospitals October 6, 2019 Britain’s public spending watchdog is to launch in investigation into Whitehall’s attempts to rescue two major hospital projects which ground to a halt when Carillion went bust last year. The unfinished Midland Metropolitan and the Royal Liverpool University hospitals were left hanging by a thread when the outsourcer collapsed in January 2018, eventually lumping taxpayers [...]
Industry slams Labour plan to bring outsourced public services in-house July 21, 2019 Business leaders have pilloried a Labour policy announcement to bring local council jobs like construction, bin collection and school dinners in-house. John McDonnell this weekend said the party wants local councils to carry out the services themselves rather than pay companies to do it. The Confederation of British Industry’s chief UK policy director Matthew Fell [...]
Auditors ‘should have unlimited access’ to avoid another Carillion July 14, 2019 Companies could reduce the risk of Carillion-style corporate collapses by giving internal auditors “unrestricted access” to the workings of their business, according to an industry group. Furthermore, firms should let auditors attend all executive committee meetings, according to the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA). Read more: Should the audit and consultancy arms of the [...]
‘In a dark place’: Kier shares plummet 40 per cent after embattled outsourcer gives £25m profit warning June 3, 2019 Kier Group shares have suffered a fresh blow this morning, dropping more than a third as the troubled outsourcer reels from its latest profit warning. The construction and services company, which is listed as one of the government’s top external suppliers of public services, shocked investors this morning with the news operating profit will be [...]
Watchdog slaps KPMG with £6m fine over insurance audit April 30, 2019 A financial watchdog has stung KPMG with a £6m fine and “severely reprimanded” the auditor after finding fault with how an insurance audit was conducted. Read more: KPMG examining audit spin-off in wake of damning report from MPs KPMG must also carry out an internal review following the Financial Reporting Council’s (FRC) findings, which relate [...]
Rolls-Royce, Vodafone and Interserve among firms kicked off government’s anti-late payment scheme April 29, 2019 The public sector’s war on late payment intensified today as 17 big hitters in British business were kicked off a voluntary scheme intended to crack down on the problem, including several blue-chip firms. Read more: Number of firms paid late by Cabinet Office nearly triples since 2016 Rolls-Royce, Vodafone and BHP Billiton were among the [...]
Business lobby groups slam competition watchdog’s calls for radical audit reform April 18, 2019 Business lobby group the CBI said reforms to the audit sector proposed today by the competition watchdog could “undermine confidence in corporate Britain”. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) today called for the Big Four accountancy firm’s audit arms to be split from their non-audit arms with separate profit pool and management in a major [...]