West Uusimaa halts disputed 290,000 euro communications contract

West Uusimaa Wellbeing Services County has halted a disputed communications consultancy contract worth 290,000 euros, Yle reports.

The county had decided to buy external communications consultancy from a newly established company. The company’s sole owner is Lauri Korkeaoja, communications director of the Finnish Medical Association and the spouse of Inka Hopsu, an Espoo municipal politician and Member of Parliament.

“We made a clear error of judgement in the procurement. We should have considered a wider range of implementation options and allowed more time for preparation,” Wellbeing Services County Director Sanna Svahn said in a statement.

Svahn said the use of public funds required thorough and transparent preparation.

The county did not hold a public tender because the price of the consultancy agreement, which would have covered approximately two and a half years, was 10,000 euros below the threshold set by the Public Procurement Act.

The county’s regional board will next meet on 24 August. No agreement has been signed with the service provider and no work has been ordered, according to the county.

“I will propose to the regional board that the procurement decision be annulled. I am sorry, and we want to correct our mistake,” Svahn said.