An external report commissioned by Education, Sport and Culture has found that proper procedures were not followed by the college and that the winning firm, Carroll Food Services, were in talks with them before the contract was advertised for tender.
Highlands say that while not perfect, the process was fair.
Carroll’s won at the expense of the existing operators, Semar Ltd, who had been running the canteen for nine years, apparently without any hint of dissatisfaction with their service.
Carroll’s also beat other local firms including Empire Catering, despite the fact that their prices would have been 24% cheaper for the students.
The report found that the college did not taste the food that was to be offered by the competing firms.
The Education Committee had received complaints from Mario Pirozzolo of Empire, from Semar, from the Jersey Hospitality Association and from Deputy Terry Le Main, who had been contacted by one of the aggrieved firms.
Mr Pirozzolo said: ‘Clearly, we are very disappointed that, in an economic climate where we are being asked by government to utilise local services, management and staff wherever possible, the college were unable to identify a local operator to run a café.
The college took the decision to outsource the operation to an external operator within a process which I consider to have been a sham.’ Highlands principal Ed Sallis denied today that the process had been a sham or that Carroll’s had been given an edge over their local rivals.
He said that the college set up a panel of four senior managers – head of estates Gordon de Gruchy, head of health and safety Keith Shaw, head of catering Peter Quérée and co-ordinator of student services Linda Battersby – for the process.’ However, he did accept that the process could have been better.
‘With hindsight, we could all do things better,’ he said.
