Westminster defends gifting policy for senior officers who received test match tickets and hotel dinners from property developers and private companies

BY OWEN SHEPPARD
Local Democracy Reporter
yann@slpmedia.co.uk

Westminster City council has defended its policy of allowing senior officers to accept gifts from property developers and other private companies.

A freedom of information request has shown that, between 2017 and 2019, council staff logged 240 records of individual gifts they received.

These ranged from expensive dinners at five-star hotels, to tickets for sought-after events such as The Ashes test cricket at Lord’s.

When councillors and MPs receive gifts, the details are made public on the council’s or Parliament’s website for anyone to look at.

This does not apply to senior council officers, including those who run huge departments while earning six-figure salaries.

The town hall has said it is “looking at” making this the case, in order to increase its transparency.

On July 7 this year, an unnamed officer from Westminster City council’s Housing and Regeneration department received a £100 ticket to a Lord’s Ashes Test match. It was gifted to them by property consultancy and project management firm, Gardiner and Theobald.

Gardiner and Theobald (G&T) has provided project management services for a number of major developments that were approved by the council in recent years, including:

• The new 900-bedroom Hard Rock Hotel in Marble Arch
• The conversion of the historic Old War Office in Whitehall into a luxury Raffles hotel and flats, reportedly worth £460 million.
• The redevelopment of 44 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, which was approved by Westminster City council in 2017. It will become the London School of Economics’ new Marshall Building.

On July 4 last year, an officer from the council’s planning department was gifted a ticket worth £250 by Turley Associates to the New London Architecture Awards.

Turley Associates was also hired as a planning consultant for the 44 Lincoln’s Inn Fields development for LSE. And its website says the company helped by “securing planning permission on behalf of LSE”.

An officer from the planning department was also treated by FTSE 100 developer, British Land, to a £100 ticket to the Westminster Property Association Annual Dinner in April 2018.

Hosted at the London Hilton Hotel in Park Lane, the glitzy networking event was attended by 600 members and guests, and featured a performance by comedian Josh Widdicombe.

It came after British Land was given planning permission by the council in October 2017 for a 20-storey hotel, nicknamed Paddington Tower, to be located in Sheldon Square.

There is no evidence of misconduct or that receiving these gifts influenced the decision making of Westminster Council officers in their work.

Moreover, the council’s Employees’ Code of Conduct says officers “must comply” with rules on the “declaration of hospitality or gifts offered to or received by them, from any person or organisation doing or seeking to do business, or otherwise benefiting or seeking to benefit, from a relationship with the City Council”.

A spokesman for Westminster City Council said: “As an open and transparent council, we’ve clear rules in place to make sure there are no conflicts of interest when accepting gifts and hospitality – any offers valued at £25 or more have to be registered.

“As part of their daily business, it’s right that our staff will meet and build relations with external organisations that help us deliver council services for our residents.

“Whilst we don’t believe there’s been a conflict of interest, we recognise the perception in accepting such gifts and hospitality is important. That’s why we’ll be making sure all staff are clear on the guidance.

“In addition, following an extensive review of how we handle planning applications, we’re looking at how we can be more transparent, and this includes publishing council officers’ gifts and hospitality information.”

British Land was asked to explain why it offered tickets to the Westminster Property Association dinner. A company spokeswoman said: “The dinner you refer to was a networking event for organisations supporting the economic prosperity of Westminster. British Land hosted a table and invited a range of guests, including a planning officer from Westminster Council.”

A spokesman from Turley said: “As part of our work we engage openly and transparently with those with an interest in projects we are working on. This includes officers and members of councils. The propriety of such engagement is paramount and we fully expect any hospitality received to be declared in accordance with an authority’s own guidelines.”

Gardiner and Theobald was approached for comment but there was no response.

Geoff Barraclough, Westminster City Councillor for Maida Vale, and shadow cabinet member for planning, said: “Council officers often have greater say in planning decisions than elected councillors, so it’s surprising that the same rules don’t apply.

“All gifts and hospitality should be declared without exception so the public can be reassured that local government is fair and transparent.”