Following coverage of Highland and Islands Enterprise and Natural Retreats failures to act on health and safety recommendations from independent consultants about the ski life infrastructure (see here), HIE refused to provide a copy of the latest report (they had provided two previous reports), citing commerical confidentiality and intellectual property rights. Malcom Garfoot appealed and a week ago the Scottish Information Commissioner found in his favour and ordered HIE to release the information in DecisionNotice141-2018. The excellent coverage in the Strathy this week covers the presenting issues.
The Commissioner’s report also reveals some insights into HIE’s thinking which should be of concern to anyone who cares about what is going wrong at Cairngorm and the increasing culture of secrecy in the public sector.
“31. HIE submitted that the withheld information was commercial in nature as it related to the condition and maintenance of key assets owned by CML, and was contained in a report prepared as part of ADACS’s business of providing consultancy services.”
Now, as anyone who has followed the saga of HIE’s sale of Cairngorm Mountain Ltd to Natural Assets Investment Ltd will know, HIE retained ownership of the ski lift infrastructure and funicular. Yet now HIE have apparently told the Scottish Information Commissioner that the lifts are owned by Cairngorm Mountain Ltd and therefore information about them is commercially confidential. If HIE has secretly sold off its assets at Cairngorm that really would be a public scandal but this appears just another example of HIE incompetence. These are public assets and the public has a right to know how they are being maintained.
What is as worrying is that HIE has tried to claim that the latest report on lift structures cannot be released because the Intellectual Property Rights belong to the consultants. On this argument, ANY report commissioned by the public sector could be kept secret and open government as we know it would disappear. The HIE Board really need to get a grip and instruct their staff that such secrecy is unacceptable and if they fail to do this, the Minister responsible, Fergus Ewing should step in and instruct them to put their house in order.
Underlying this cover-up is HIE’s failure to enforce the terms of their lease with Cairngorm Mountain Ltd/Natural Retreats. The Information Commissioner’s report provides more evidence that HIE are not in control and simply do whatever “Natural Retreats” tell them:
“HIE submitted that, following consultation with Natural Retreats, the company which manages CML, Natural Retreats had expressed an expectation of confidentiality in relation to the report and did not wish it disclosed”.
What happens at Cairngorm should not be about what a private company wants but what is in the public interest.
The re-birth of Natural Retreats UK Ltd
Last year parkswatch covered how Natural Retreats UK Ltd, the company that ran Cairngorm Mountain on behalf of the owner, Natural Assets Investment Ltd, had changed its name to the UK Great Travel Company (see here). This was connected to a rupture between the US and UK arms of the former organisation. What I totally failed to pick up at the time was that a week before Natural Retreats UK Ltd changed its name on 1st October was that a new company NRML Technology Ltd (the clue is in the first two letters) had been created at the same UK address and under the ownership of Natural Retreats Management LLC, the then owners of Natural Retreats UK Ltd. The names NRML Technology Ltd suggests that the American half of the operation maybe retained ownership of some of the technology used by the UK Great Travel Company.
What then happened on 20th June, however, was that NRML Technology Ltd changed its name – to Natural Retreats UK Ltd! So, the company which ceased to exist on 1st November was re-born 8 months later – albeit with two different Directors based in the USA. For all this information I am indebted to https://jacothenorth.net/blog/ who has been conducting research into Natural Retreats Activities in Wales (well worth a read) and whose blog contains some further information about the American Directors of the re-born Natural Retreats UK Ltd (they basically appear venture capitalists).
In addition to this the Registered office address changed from Whitecroft House 51 Water Lane Wilmslow SK9 5BQ United Kingdom to c/o 17 St. Anns Square Manchester M2 7PW on 27 February 2018. That address belongs to CG & Co Insolvency Practitioners – so what is going on?
While it is possible that the relationship between the new Natural Retreats UK Ltd and “Natural Retreats” in the form of the UK Great Travel Company, may become clear in the forthcoming accounts of the respective companies, whether it does or not this should be of interest to our public authorities and in particular to HIE. For example to what extent, if any, can the increasing proportion of expenditure by Cairngorm Mountain Ltd devoted to administration since Natural Retreats took over (as reflected in their accounts) be attributed to IT expenses and was leasing of IT software, for example, the means by which money passed from the old Natural Retreats UK Ltd to Natural Retreats Management LLC in the USA? HIE will claim such matters are commercially confidential, just like health and safety, whereas I believe that where public assets have been outsourced, as at Cairngorm, its in the public interest to know how they operate and that they provide value for money. If “Natural Retreats” can’t or won’t do this they are not fit to run Cairngorm and if HIE can’t or won’t make public how much money, if any, is passing through Cairngorm Mountain Ltd to the USA or anywhere else that’s more evidence they are unfit to own Cairngorm and that a community owned alternative would be in the public interest.
The lease between HIE and CML/NR has this to say: 2.1.1 Carry out all maintenance works without necessity of demand.
The broken timbers on the Ciste T-Bar were reported by ADAC’s in 2016 and they had this to say ”The timber platform was seen to be broken – possibly due to vehicle access – this needs to be replaced before the coming season. This was discussed with CML staff at the time and assurances that it would be done were received” The repairs were not done and the loading platform was used by customers in the 2016/17 and 2017/18 seasons. By good fortune, nobody came to any harm. What is very clear is that the report does raise Health and Safety fears and that the operator did not abide by the terms of the lease, quoted above. HIE’s claims that there were no H&S issues and that their tenant has met and continues to meet the lease conditions are both demonstrably untrue. In addition, HIE having been shown to be untruthful, expect us to believe that the 2017 report is a working document with actions arising from it still being carried out. Why then were the actions identified in the 2015 and 2016 reports not actioned by the summer of 2018? It’s clearly nonsense and HIE are simply trying [and miserably failing] to protect their own collective back. Operating on the basis of self interest and not the public interest is something that will not be tolerated and the public are entitled to expect much higher standards from the Governments Development Agency in the Highlands. Further very damning publicity will be sought if immediate steps are not made to sort out this disgraceful shambles.
HIE’s mismanagement of the contract with Cairngorm Mountain only gets worst. It is great that the Information Commissioner ruled in favour of the release of the information, but the delays caused by asking for the information, raising an FOI, appealing to the ICO and then waiting for HIE to decide whether to counter-appeal have already been damaging. It is a pity that organisations such as ICO and SPSO just don’t have the powers to take disciplinary action against such public bodies. It’s time for Fergus Ewing to act and sort out the mess which is HIE – but maybe HIE is just following the track that Fergus Ewing wants them to do.
I’ve lost track of where we are in the process for consideration of the Aviemore and Glen More Community Trust’s bid to take control of Cairngorm Mountain.