Double counting
Old Grumpy has now obtained a copy of Grant Thornton's letter to Bluestone's creditors dated 7 January 2010.
This 22-page document is not easy to follow but what can be discerned is that the former Bluestone companies owed some £65 million and were purchased by the new company for £36.9 million.
Hardly the runaway success that we read about in the Western Telegraph back in November (Bankrolling Bluestone) (Rubber stamp) especially when you consider that a £15 million Welsh Assembly grant has also disappeared into this financial black hole.
This latest document to come into Old Grumpy's possession reveals that £62.2 million was owed to what are described as "secured lenders" including Pembrokeshire County Council (£1.9 million).
Further down the same page under the heading "unsecured creditors" the administrator's report says: "Other (my emphasis) loans of c£4.275 m are listed in the statement of affairs as liabilities of BMEL [Bluestone Mansford Estates Ltd] . This represents loans from Pembrokshire County Council of c£1.8m and BHL [Bluestone Holdings Ltd] of c£2.5m".
On the face of it, PCC would appear to have made two loans one of £1.9m (secured) and one of c£1.8m (unsecured) though I don't believe this to be the case and suspect there is some technical explanation for this somewhat confusing presentation of the facts.
I will be seeking clarification.
PCC is also listed among unsecured trade creditors as being owed £202,000 which is presumed to be in respect of unpaid rates.
One of the few good things to come out of this restructuring arrangement is that these trade creditors - many of them small Pembrokeshire businesses - will be paid the £1.2m they are collectively owed.
As for Pembrokeshire taxpayers they have exchanged their loan(s) for a 3% equity stake in the new company.
Assuming a single secured loan of £1.9m, that would value the company at £63m net of any liabilities such as loans.
But the assets recently changed hands for £36.9m and Bank of Scotland and Finance Wales are bankrolling the new company to the tune of £10m so it is doubtful whether PCC's investment is now worth even half its original value.
Considering also that the loan was secured against the company's assets while shareholders are at the very back of the queue when it comes to the distribution of funds, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the taxpayer has bought a financial turkey.
Of course, it is possible that the council had to choose between taking a 3% shareholding or going away empty handed.
If that was the case we should be told, preferably with an explanation as to how the council allowed itself to get into such an exposed position.
Foregone conclusions At its meeting on 4 January, the cabinet resolved: "That a review be undertaken of the current infant and junior schools provision in Hakin given the close working relationship between Hakin Infants School and Hakin Junior School."
Old Grumpy has an interest in this issue both as the councillor for Hakin and a governor of the infants school.
A couple of weeks ago the governors of both schools were invited to a meeting with education department officers where it was explained that discussions had been held with the two head teachers and the preferred option was to amalgamate the two schools.
Given the time scales involved it is clear that these discussions had been underway long before the Cabinet approved this review and what governors were being presented with was a fait at least half accompli.
On Wednesday of this week the infants school governors had an initial "consultation" meeting with the Cabinet member for education, Cllr Huw George, and education department officers where it became clear that combining the two schools was the only proposal on the table.
I have no problem in principle with the two schools being amalgamated, though I am reserving judgment until we are given details of what exactly is being proposed.
However, I do object most strongly to this bogus review and consultation process.
To my mind a review should start with a blank sheet of paper not a preordained outcome and consultation should be designed to canvass the opinion of interested parties with a view to achieving the best outcome for the children's education.
We governors of Hakin Infants School are all intelligent people who are perfectly capable of weighing the arguments and reaching a rational conclusion.
We don't need to be led by the nose.
Failed appeal The article on the WT's failure to persuade PCC's appeal panel to reverse the council's earlier refusal to release details of expenditure on consultants fees attracted by far the most comments (19) - mainly critical of the county council - on the paper's website.
Olde Grumpee (Pennar) - no relation - says "Nice to see the WT doing some proper journalism".
And, indeed, Old Grumpy has noticed a welcome increase in the number of stories and editorials holding the council to account.
Nothing I've said, I hope.
False comparisons
The Daily Telegraph reports that research by the Halifax Building Society shows that:
"Average house prices, allowing for inflation, have increased 273 per cent in the past 50 years, making homes increasingly unaffordable.
A typical home could be bought for £2,507 in 1959, the equivalent to £43,713 in today’s money."
This is a quarter of the £160,000 cost of the average home today.
If houses are really "increasingly unaffordable" how do you explain how come so many more people now seem able to buy them - the rate of owner-occupation being three times what it was in 1959.
One answer is that in 1959 you would be lucky to be getting 5 bob an hour, indeed, as I recall, becoming "a-thousand-pound-a-year-man" was held out as being the pinnacle that might be achieved by working hard in school.
On the above conversion rates £1,000 in 1959 equates to about £17,000 in today's money, whereas the sort of people who earned a thousand a year in 1959 would now be on fifty, sixty thousand or more.
Five bob an hour would be less than the minimum wage.
And comparing the price of houses in 1959 when many didn't have bathrooms or inside toilets - never mind fitted kitchens and central heating - with those today, is statistically illiterate.