Auditors have refused to give Cheshire East Council the all clear for a third year running as the investigations swirling around it continue, writes Stephen Topping.
Grant Thornton has approved the council’s finances for 2017-18, but it has refused to issue a ‘value for money’ certificate over governance concerns.
Instead, the auditor has given Cheshire East a ‘qualified opinion’ after it found ‘a number of historic weaknesses’ in the local authority’s ability to make decisions.
Representatives from the firm presented its audit report to CEC’s audit and governance committee yesterday (July 31).
The report said: “The council has operated throughout the year of audit with interim senior management arrangements in place as a result of ongoing disciplinary proceedings involving the statutory officers.
“Investigations by the council’s internal audit team have provided evidence of a number of historic weaknesses in the council’s arrangements for informed decision making and acting in the public interest through demonstrating and applying the principles and values of good governance.
“Until these matters are resolved they raise the risk of weaknesses in the council’s arrangements for implementing and sustaining sufficient and appropriate governance arrangements throughout the organisation.
“Until the council is able to demonstrate it has put these matters behind it we consider that there is evidence of weaknesses in proper arrangements for informed decision making in acting in the public interest, through demonstrating and applying the principles and values of good governance.”
In the report, Grant Thornton said CEC is not in a position to make permanent appointments for the positions of chief executive, section 151 officer and deputy chief executive until “current investigations are concluded or until individuals involved in these investigations resign”.
The auditor highlighted Cllr Howard Murray stepping down as chairman of the investigation and disciplinary committee, “a number of potential data breaches” reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office in April, five matters that were referred to police and “other historic matters” as causes for concern.
Grant Thornton added that a former cabinet member is also facing “disciplinary procedures” with their identity not yet known publicly.
Jan Willis, interim section 151 officer at CEC, told the committee: “Grant Thornton has issued a clean audit opinion in each of the last three years on the financial statements – so the accounts themselves.
“What has been qualified is the value for money opinion, which relates to the arrangements that the council has in place to secure value for money – proper decision making etc.
“Those opinions have been qualified on the basis that until all of the ongoing investigations come to a conclusion, the auditor is simply not in a position to issue a clean bill of health in that regard.
“Having been qualified, my understanding is they will remain qualified for those years, and it will be for [the auditors] in issuing their opinion on the 2018-19 accounts and subsequent years to reach their own view, as those matters are resolved, about whether they are now satisfied that we have the appropriate arrangements in place.”
The committee was also told that auditors have a duty to keep matters open in case files are required in a court case.
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