Government spent ‘eye-watering’ £10k a day (£3.8m so far…) on legal etc consultants over 3rd runway
The Government has been criticised for the DfT spending an average of £10,000 per day on consultants and law firms to decide if a 3rd runway should be built at Heathrow. The DfT is reported to have spent more than £3.8million on external firms since the Airport Commission published a report in July 2015, saying Heathrow was the best location for a new runway. A FoI request by the Press Association showed that the lion’s share of the money has gone to financial advisers N M Rothschild & Sons, who filed 4 invoices totalling £1.46 million, which were paid between July last year and October 2016. Law firm DLA Piper UK was also paid £1.09 million between August 2015 and October 2016, while Allen & Overy received £152,955.60 between January and September this year. Professional services firm Ernst & Young filed 2 invoices worth £138,765 for consultancy work, paid between March and August 2016. New MP for Richmond Park, Sarah Olney, said: “These are eye-watering sums, over £10,000 a day, to pay consultants for an airport people don’t want.” For this runway “the people lose out and the only gainers are highly paid consultants.” Taxpayers’ money has been wasted by the DfT despite deciding “long before it was going to be Heathrow whatever the evidence”. Far, far more public money will also be spent, if the runway went ahead.
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Heathrow expansion: Government spent ‘eye-watering’ £10k a day on consultants over third runway
2.1.2017 (Evening Standard)
The Government has been slammed for spending an average of £10,000 per day on consultants and law firms to decide if a third runway should be built at Heathrow.
The Department for Transport, headed up by under fire minister Chris Grayling, has shelled out more than £3.8million on external firms since the Airport Commission published a report in July 2015, naming Heathrow Airport as the best location for a new runway.
A Freedom of Information request by the Press Association has revealed that the lion’s share of the money has gone to financial advisers N M Rothschild & Sons, who filed four invoices totalling £1.46million, which were paid between July last year and October 2016.
Law firm DLA Piper UK was also paid £1.09 million between August 2015 and October 2016, while Allen & Overy received £152,955.60 between January and September this year.
Professional services firm Ernst & Young filed two invoices worth £138,765 for consultancy work, which the Government made good between March and August 2016.
Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Olney, who stunned the Tories by overturning billionaire Zac Goldsmith’s 23,000 majority in the Richmond Park by-election, described the sums as “eye-watering”.
She said: “These are eye-watering sums, over £10,000 a day, to pay consultants for an airport people don’t want.
“I won a by-election in Richmond Park and North Kingston on a platform opposing Heathrow expansion. Local people have spoken but Theresa May is ignoring democracy. The people lose out and the only gainers are highly paid consultants.”
Ms Olney added that it is “patently clear” that the Conservative Government had frittered away taxpayer’s money despite deciding “long before it was going to be Heathrow whatever the evidence”.
A third runway at Heathrow Airport was given the go-ahead by the Government in October after proposals to expand its existing runway, or build a second runway at Gatwick, were rejected.
The new runway could be in operation by 2025, but is expected to face fierce opposition from MPs.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson previously described the project as “undeliverable” and claimed it was likely to be stopped, while Education Secretary Justine Greening said she was “extremely disappointed”.
A public consultation will be held on the impact of the third runway before the final decision is put to MPs for a vote in the winter of 2017/18.
It was revealed last month that parliamentary support for a third runway at Heathrow has grown, according to research commissioned by the airport.
Almost three quarters (74 per cent) of the 130 MPs polled between October and November say they would back the third runway project.
A spokesman for the Department for Transport said: “The Government’s decision to back expansion at Heathrow Airport was one of the biggest boosts to the UK’s transport infrastructure in a generation, estimated to bring economic benefits to passengers and the wider economy worth up to £61 billion.
“Given the scale and complexity of airport expansion schemes, as well as the various statutory requirements, including those under the Planning Act 2008, it is only right that we should seek expert advice to make sure the Government’s analysis is of the highest quality and fully considers all options and any constraints.
“This is to ensure we get the right solution to the UK’s airport capacity needs and maximise the benefit to the whole country.”
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Daniel Moylan
@danielmgmoylan
A drop in the ocean compared to what taxpayers will have to find to allow this foreign-owned quasi-monopoly to be entrenched.
Government slammed for spending £3.8million on consultants and lawyers over new Heathrow runway
The Department for Transport spent an average of £10,000 per day last year while deciding where to place a new runway in the South East
BY NATASHA CLARK (The Sun)
2nd January 2017
MINISTERS have been slammed for splashing out more than £3.8 million on law firms and consultants when deciding which London airport to expand.
The Department for Transport, headed up by Chris Grayling, shelled out an average of £10,000 per day on external firms since July 2015.
Heathrow was recommended as the airport to expand in a new report in the summer after the General Election. But ministers spent millions in the months afterwards to financial advisers, N M Rothschild & Sons, law firm DLA Piper, and professional services firm Ernst & Young, figures from the Press Association showed.
MPs have rounded on the Government for the decision to splash taxpayers’ cash.
New Lib Dem MP Sarah Olney, who snatched the Tory seat of Richmond Park from Zac Goldsmith last year, said the figures were “eye-watering”.
Ms Olney added that it is “patently clear” that the Conservative Government had frittered away taxpayer’s money despite deciding “long before it was going to be Heathrow whatever the evidence”.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson had previously condemned the expansion and claimed it was “undeliverable”.
Justine Greening, the Home Secretary, said she was “extremely disappointed” with the decision.
Heathrow is currently preparing its formal application for planning permission for the new runway, which is expected to create thousands of jobs, and bring benefits to the economy.
But residents will be invited to join the consultation and councils in the area are likely to object unless they win major concessions. Thousands will voice concerns about increased traffic congestion, and noise and air pollution.
Residents are concerned at the impact of the new runway on traffic and air pollution. A spokesman for the Department for Transport defended the decision to spend the money on consultants:
“The Government’s decision to back expansion at Heathrow Airport was one of the biggest boosts to the UK’s transport infrastructure in a generation, estimated to bring economic benefits to passengers and the wider economy worth up to £61 billion.
“Given the scale and complexity of airport expansion schemes, as well as the various statutory requirements, including those under the Planning Act 2008, it is only right that we should seek expert advice to make sure the Government’s analysis is of the highest quality and fully considers all options and any constraints.
“This is to ensure we get the right solution to the UK’s airport capacity needs and maximise the benefit to the whole country.”
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2518350/government-slammed-for-spending-3-8million-on-consultants-over-new-heathrow-runway/
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