Torfaen locals flabbergasted after unused laptop saga
Locals scold council following ChannelWeb's revelation that laptops worth £1m are still in storage
Torfaen locals have been left "flabbergasted" following the news broken by ChannelWeb that the council is still yet to find a buyer for laptops worth £1m which were paid for with public money.
ChannelWeb revealed last week that 2,400 devices controversially procured from reseller XMA are still yet to find a home following the expiration of their warranties in March. They were intended for Newport Council, which dropped out, leaving Torfaen struggling to find another partner.
A council members' briefing note seen today by ChannelWeb claims that on 12 October, Torfaen and Monmouthshire councils, along with the Welsh Government verbally agreed that the remaining devices will be rolled out across the region subject to approval from the Welsh Government, which is expected this month.
A Freedom of Information request filed by ChannelWeb claimed the laptops' warranties expired last month, but on further questioning, Torfaen's deputy chief executive Peter Durkin conceded that they actually expired in March, but added that he was "totally confident" they are fit for purpose.
The news, which was later picked up by local and regional press, as well as by the BBC and ITV, sparked outrage from local taxpayers.
Armand Watts, a county councillor for Monmouthshire, who sits on the Children and Young People's Select Committee, said the public needs answers about the situation.
He said: "So many questions surrounding this have gone unanswered. The questions [that have been raised] are certainly in the public interest and answers should be given by all concerned."
Torfaen Council has since posted on Twitter that it is in active discussions with the Welsh government to see if the devices can be used in the [Gwent] region. The Welsh government issued a statement saying it is working closely with the authority to "ensure the money is spent appropriately".
An anonymous source said the procurement process was doomed from the start after ChannelWeb reported a tender for 408 laptops was controversially scrapped. Some 8,600 devices were eventually procured without going to tender, with the council citing time constraints.
The source said: "The whole thing is shocking. The laptops would have been one of the largest procurement exercises in Wales, and how it did not go to tender is totally wrong. It is all very cloak and dagger, I am bemused.
"Someone needs to own up and say that they made a mistake, even if it costs them their job. This should not happen in the professional procurement process in this day and age."
One channel source, who lives in the region but did not want to reveal his identity, called for the Welsh government speed up the decision-making process concerning the laptops' future.
"[The Welsh government] is wasting even more money debating this, and exacerbating the incompetence in doing so. We should be able to sort this type of thing out in a lunchtime, and not have a team of civil servants looking into the ramifications," he said.
Local residents took to social media to vent their anger, with parents suggesting the devices be distributed to dyslexic children in the area, while another said the scandal undermines its Christmas fundraising appeal.
Twitter user Paul Parkinson tweeted: "I am flabbergasted by Torfaen Council spending £1m on 2,500 laptops for schools [and] not distributing them... Makes one wonder if the head of procurement responsible for such a fiasco has been promoted or sacked."
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