Once again Councillor you appear to unable to distinguish fact from your own fictional world. I corrected your statement at scrutiny when you, as now, were unable to correctly identify the Goodwill payment this council received. I did not give any list of assets. When you still failed to understand the facts being presented to you Cllr Swindlehust tried an illustrative list to give you an understanding of a situation you seem unable (or unwilling ) to comprehend.

The Council's accounts have been scrutinised by our external auditors who had full access to the Council's documentation regarding this transaction. They have not only given an unqualified audit opinion but have complimented the Council on the improved services evident within the Town through this innovative 15-year contract. This information is not therefore 'secret' but it is Commercially Confidential.

You will appreciate that even with your elevated status as an elected member, officers would never agree for you to have access to child care practice records or give the names and addresses of our Housing Benefit clients simply because you ask for it - whilst the information is less personal this is just simply accepted commercial practice. Officers have advised me that you still have not given any reason for needing to know what is essentially managerial information and I can see no reason to interfere with their professional judgement nor take up anymore of their time on this matter. However what I am able to say without breaching commercial confidence is:

The payment made by Accord was part of the original tender. It is usual in transferring a business as a going concern, that a payment is received for the goodwill, which includes the skilled workforce, the assets of the business and the award of a long term contract as these are what enable the new contractor to take over the business as a going concern. In this tender it was envisaged that the contractor would be able to expand the business and not deal solely with Slough's contract. That way our staff would have greater job security for the future. The payment benefits the council taxpayers as it contributes to the cost of the service to the Council thereby reducing budget needs. Apart from the staff the kind of assets that are transferred are the goodwill which is recognised as a separate element in its own, stock and equipment.