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11:57 am, December 22, 2008
Failed TIF bid cost AGMA more than £20m
By Simon Binns
The cost of preparing the failed bid to the Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) was more than £20m, according to figures released by the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA).
Documents presented to a meeting of the AGMA executive on Friday show expenditure in the year to November 30, 2008 was £21.9m, against a budget of £22.2m.
The overall budget for work on TIF during 2008-9 was £33.8m, split between; project team costs (£9.1m), congestion charging (£7.1m), complementary transport schemes (£16.6m) and public information (£900,000).
A report on the £230,000 television advert, which was pulled after complaints to Ofcom, was also presented at the meeting. It said the experience had revealed “serious flaws in the regulatory process”, as AGMA and the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority (GMPTA) were not provided with details of the complaints and were not allowed to appeal against Ofcom’s findings of partiality.
“The advertiser has no rights in either of these respects, even though its interests are affected and its reputation at stake,” it said.
“In this case, ITV took the decision to suspend the broadcast of the advertisement on being informed of Ofcom’s concerns even though Ofcom had not communicated these to the GMPTA, whose interests were clearly affected,” it said.
“The process therefore contravenes the basic rules of natural justice. Ofcom appears to have entirely overlooked that fact that the interests of broadcasters and advertisers in defending a particular piece of advertising may well diverge.
“It is interesting to note that the Advertising Standards Authority adopt a very different procedure in respect of those advertisements for which it is responsible and allows advertisers as well as broadcasters to appeal its decisions. The Clerk intends to take these issues up with DCMS.”
COMMENTS? sbinns@crain.com
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