WARRINGTON Borough Council is continuing to press for a resolution on the objection to the council’s accounts for 2017/18 as Tory PCC Andy Carter welcomed news that there’s to be an independent review of local authority financial reporting and auditing.
News of the review follows delays to the sign off of Warrington Borough Council Accounts for the last financial year which Labour Council leader Russ Bowden says has been going on for too long.
The review, announced last week by the Secretary of State for Housing & Local Government James Brokenshire will look at the quality of Council audits and whether they are highlighting when a Public Body is in financial trouble early enough.
It will also look at whether the public has lost faith in auditors and whether the current audit arrangements for councils are still “fit for purpose”.
Andy Carter
Commenting on the review, Warrington South Prospective MP, Andy Carter said: “This isn’t perhaps one of the most eye-catching announcements but it’s particularly important. A robust local audit system is absolutely pivotal for oversight, not just because it reinforces confidence in financial reporting but because it ensures public money is being spent in the best interest of local tax payers and, ultimately, it maintains our faith in local democracy.”
“I’m aware that the 2017/18 Warrington Borough Council Accounts have still not be signed off by their Auditor, Grant Thornton following a valid public objection to the accounts and there still appears to be no timescale for delivering them. This isn’t good for public scrutiny.”
“Local Authorities are responsible for almost a quarter of all UK public sector expenditure so we should expect a high quality and transparent system for reporting their accounts. As some Council’s decide to extend their activities into commercial investment schemes, which in Warrington’s case now involves in excess of £1billion of public debt, we must also ensure there is a high level of challenge from their external Auditor and efficient reporting to maintain public confidence.”
Council Leader Cllr. Russ Bowden responded: “High quality external auditing is essential to the function of the Council and it goes without saying that members and the public alike should expect nothing less.
“The Council continues to press Grant Thornton for a resolution on the objection to the Council’s 2017/18 accounts. This has gone on for too long and the delay is not helpful to either the objector or the Council.
“The Council’s financial innovations and commercial strategy are widely recognised by both national and local government. This programme is delivering strong financial returns that are providing revenue income to help address the funding chasm caused by Tory austerity. That is what continues to provide essential frontline services for Warrington residents, including the most vulnerable.
“The vast majority of the Council’s commercial investments are on an ‘invest to save’ basis, with all debt secured against property or other assets.
“Talking about £1bn debt shows an ignorance of the facts and is neither helpful or instructive.”
The delay comes after a member of the public challenged the council’s £30m investment in Redwood Bank, made in October 2017. Auditors must now reply to the challenge, delaying approval of the accounts.
5 Comments
This is welcome. It feels as though the external audit function in local government is less robust than it was when I worked in local government – we had the District Auditor in those days.
I must take issue with Cllr Bowden’s comment regarding £1 billion debt. Councillor – that’s exactly what it is. However noble the motives, WBC has a level of debt which looks very high as a proportion of annual revenue. We’re servicing that debt; I appreciate that many of these investments currently generate more income than they’re costing, but no investment is risk-free.
Redwood Bank is a special case, and deserves its own external scrutiny.
If Warrington council was a true business, like it’s trying to portray itself as , with this current property buying spree, its shareholders would be holding the board to account over not having accounts signed off, or even selling their shares due to a dip in share price..yet we have no such oversight / influence apart from election time!
Yet again Russ Bowden shades the facts of the official narrative by stating:
“The Council’s financial innovations and commercial strategy are widely recognised by both national and local government.“
The Office of Budget Responsibility is on record as saying:
“Selling off existing land or property or indeed gambling with office parks and shopping malls to fund gaps in their budgets is not in the best interests of the public.”
Hear hear Chris, although considering you’re standing for the same party as Cllr Bowden, you should welcome the audit as well for future reporting.
If you are referring to me you have your wires crossed. Never been or would want to be in the same party as Russ Bowden. My name is not Chris. But I would nonetheless, as a local council taxpayer, like an early disclosure of the much delayed audit.