Vance Miller Inquiry To Cost £50,000

The inquiry ordered by Oldham Council into the decision to prosecute kitchens tycoon Vance Miller will cost an estimated £50,000. It’s also been confirmed that the findings of the review, headed by Stewart Dobson, will be published at the end of next month.

Mr Miller and three others stood accused of conspiracy to defraud, in a prosecution brought by Oldham Council’s trading standards unit. But the trial collapsed in January, with the judge describing the case as “flawed from the start.”

Mr Dobson, a former acting chief executive of Birmingham City Council, was then brought in by the council to examine the decision to prosecute Mr Miller. The head of the council’s trading standards unit, Tony Allen, was sacked last month, although he is appealing that decision.

The new information was released at tonight’s meeting of the Oldham Council Cabinet. Cllr Ken Hulme, who sits as an independent on Saddleworth Parish Council, asked a three-part question about the Miller case. He wanted to know how much the inquiry would cost, when it would finish, and whether the findings would be made available to the public.

Cllr Hulme also said: “I hope Mr Dobson’s inquiry will look at the role of Charlie Parker, the Chief Executive of Oldham Council, and his highly paid team of senior officers in this affair as well as leading councillors. It came as no surprise to me that Tony Allen was dismissed from the council in August – before Mr Dobson’s report was published.

He continued: “The circumstances of Mr Allen’s dismissal are very unsatisfactory and I hope that Mr Allen (reported salary £57,000) will not be held to be solely or ultimately responsible for the Vance Miller fiasco while Charlie Parker (salary £213,000) and his team of six senior managers (salaries all above £100,000) are able to evade responsibility.”

In response, Cllr John McCann, who represents Saddleworth South for the Liberal Democrats and is a member of the Lib Dem/Conservative Cabinet which runs the council, said it was already a matter of public record that the review would conclude in October (Editor’s note: as stated in this council press release from July). Cllr McCann also confirmed that the findings of the review would be released to the public.

On the point about the cost of the inquiry, Cllr McCann said: “Cllr Hulme should be aware that all dates or amounts, at this stage, can only be indicative… I would quote from Mr Dobson’s statement of 22 January 2010: ‘I would like to make it clear that it will be for me to decide as I think right who I should see and what I should look at as part of my review’ and ‘Oldham Council has further stated that it will provide me with the fullest co-operation and that it expects all other parties to do the same.'”

Cllr McCann concluded: “Given the above, the costs therefore follow from a thorough review, and the estimate, at present, is in the region of £50,000.”

It’s not yet clear how much the bungled prosecution itself will end up costing Oldham Council, although the council has said it will appeal the judge’s decision to order it to pay the estimated £4m cost of the trial. The council has also insisted that it is insured, and that “there is no likelihood” the case will lead to an increase in council tax.

More information about the Dobson Review is available at the council website here.

Author: Jude Gidney - Editor

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