Milton Keynes council under fire for splashing £255,000 on a new website

MK Council has been accused of wasting money by spending £255,000 on having its new website designed.

Opposition Conservative councillors say this is the same sum as the combined amount the council is paying for pest control, playground repairs, improvements to MK library and street sign replacements in the upcoming budget.

"And worst still, the cost for the website is five times what the children mental health service YIS will receive from the council this year," said Conservative group leader Cllr Alex Walker today.

He and his councillors have accused the Labour and Lib Dem-run council of wasteful spending and pursuing PR priorities rather than the needs of residents.

The contract for the new website was awarded to Webcurl Limited, a company based in Oxfordshire. The total value awarded was £255,600 and comes despite the council’s existing website being recognised nationally in recent years.

It has also emerged in an email recently sent out to council staff and councillors that many existing web pages may no longer work once the new website is up and running, say the Tories.

Cllr Walker said: “I’m amazed at a time Labour and Lib Dem Cllrs are forcing an extra £60 a year on Council Tax bills, they think it’s a good idea to splash more than a quarter of a million pounds on a new website.

“This is yet another example of how they would rather look good than actually deliver for the residents of MK. They’ve spent over £11million refurbishing the council offices and now they’ve splashed £250,000 on a new website.

“It’s time we had a council that just delivered on the things that matter: mental health support, weekly collections, pothole repairs and keeping our streets clean.”

However, the Labour and Lib Dem Cllr Progressive Alliance has justified the spend - and attacked the Tories.

Councillor Paul Trendall, Lib Dem Cabinet member for Customer Services, told the Citizen: “Over 40,000 people use Milton Keynes Council’s website each month, and it has become the primary way for residents to contact us. However the website’s functionality is now out of date, and it needs a vital update to ensure it remains an effective and efficient way for the Council to communicate crucial messages, and for residents to access over 1,000 statutory services.

“Instead of grasping at straws, the Conservative Group should look at their own Government when it comes to wasting money. They’ve written off over £4bn in Covid fraud, £8.7bn on faulty PPE, and not to mention the £37bn thrown at the failed Test and Trace scheme. Billions in tax payers’ money has gone down the drain, yet the Tories are criticising the Council for making it easier for residents to contact the council and request services that their hard-earned council tax has paid for. It’s desperate and ridiculous. ”