A government department awarded a high school cleaning contract to a company that didn’t exist as the result of an ’administrative error’.

Questions about how AFM secured the contract at Ballakermeen High School were raised in Tynwald.

Details emerged during an employment tribunal case brought by six former employees of AFM who won damages after going unpaid.

The tribunal heard revelations that the company attempted to employ a well-known registered sex offender to carry out the cleaning work at the school. In the event, he never worked at the school or for the company.

Questioned in Tynwald about how AFD came to be employed, Infrastructure Minister Ray Harmer said in a written reply that Ashbrook Facility Management Ltd was added as a contractor to his department’s select list for cleaning services in early 2017.

He said: ’Following a formal tender process run by mini-competition through the Attorney General’s Chambers, the department engaged the services of Ashbrook Facility Management Ltd in September 2017.

’This was by way of a call-off contract to provide cleaning support on a reactive basis at a number of locations, including Ballakermeen High School.’

But he said: ’Regrettably, an administrative error was made when the contract was drafted by the AG’s Chambers. The contract was issued to one of the trading names of the company rather than to the registered company.

’The contract was signed by the company without comment but this mistake should have been picked up.’

Mr Harmer said the DoI and AG’s Chambers have made changes to the due diligence process for new contractors applying to join the list for cleaning services and in the award of call-off contracts to ensure this does not happen again.

He said: ’As part of its tender submission Ashbrook Facility Management Ltd provided full information to comply with the necessary due diligence. At no point were students placed at risk.’

Mr Harmer said that following the employment tribunal case, the Manx government has paid members of staff. The amounts owed by the contractor are now being paid over direct to staff, he said.

The Minister added: ’This is a case where government has actively tried to help local people who would have been left unpaid had the department not actively engaged in the tribunal process so that an order could be made allowing it to deduct the wages from the amounts owed to the contractor.

’In doing the right thing, the department found an error was made in the legal paperwork but due diligence and safeguarding processes operated properly.’