TORY leader Nigel Balding has written to Warrington Borough Council’s deputy leader and finance spokesperson Cathy Mitchell, calling for the council to “publish lessons learnt” from the controversial Together Energy investment – before spending £63.5 on a solar energy farm in Doncaster.
Cllr Balding says that it is vital to check that Warrington Borough Council’s Labour Cabinet members are not repeating the mistakes of the past.
But Cllr Mitchell says detailed matters relating to Together Energy can not be commented on while administrators complete their work to ensure the maximum returns for all of the company’s creditors – of which Warrington Borough Council is a significant one.
Cllr. Balding’s letter to Labour’s Cabinet member for Corporate Resources repeats questions raised on 24 January 2022 by Cllr Kath Buckley (Lymm South). Cllr Balding says that no answers have been given and, without answers, Cabinet can’t properly assess risks for new investments.
The Cabinet’s latest investment decision is to spend £63.5 million on a solar energy project at Partridge Hill Farm near Doncaster. However, Conservative Councillors have called in the decision to the council’s all-party Scrutiny Committee which will meet at a special session on Friday 12 August in Warrington Town Hall.
Cllr Balding, who submitted the call-in, has asked for three other Conservative councillors to be given time to speak at the Scrutiny Committee as well as Andy Carter, MP for Warrington South. He says that speakers on the list have complementary skills and experience but they require access to the associated confidential papers including due diligence reports. These reports have already been issued to the 10-member Labour Cabinet, himself and Lib-Dem leader Cllr Bob Barr. Conservative councillors due to speak are Cllr Carol Benson (Culcheth, Glazebury & Croft); Cllr Ken Critchley and Cllr Mark Jervis (both from Appleton).
Cllr Balding said: “Repeatedly asking for the same information, which is denied to us, feels awkward and we’ve been criticised for being too pushy. Asking the same questions repeatedly may seem disrespectful by some but, as an opposition group, it is our job to be firm with the Council. Conservatives will continue raising concerns about risky decisions and challenge WBC to be more open and transparent.”
Commenting on the letter, Cllr Carol Benson said: “We asked whether a WBC senior officer had highlighted that the TE investment was likely to be a mistake. It is important to understand if this information was given to the Cabinet at the time. It is also important to know if members of the current Cabinet have had the opportunity to hear if any senior WBC officers are making a similar call to stop the Partridge Hill Solar Farm purchase. Labour Cabinet decisions always seem to be unanimous and it would be interesting to know if this was an exception”.
Tory finance spokesperson Cllr Ken Critchley added: “This is a Council that has recently had an Adverse Value for Money Conclusion by the External Auditors, who stated, “We are not satisfied that the Council had proper arrangements for securing economy, efficiency and effectiveness in its use of resources”. Yet there is no pause for reflection, they just plough on borrowing and spending public money.”
Cllr. Critchley added: “I would like to understand if WBC is still using the same investment advisers as it did for Together Energy and Redwood Bank. Advice to buy TE led WBC into a place where other councils had feared to tread, as the Times reported, ”by the time Warrington pressed the button on the deal, 13 other suppliers had gone bust. It was plain that the easy money dozens of new entrants to this industry were hoping to make was not going to be easy at all”. Are they making the same mistakes again?”
Appleton Cllr Mark Jervis also commented: “Labour Cabinet members have said that WBC did extensive due diligence before investing in Together Energy. One Cabinet member even claimed that he was very angry that questions were being asked and that every investment decision was “passed through the eye-of-a-needle” before being signed off. Cabinet members are saying once more that they have paid consultants to do due diligence before they invest a whopping £63.5 million.”
“In the Together Energy paper that went to Cabinet, the text described the investment as a “play”. This was public money they were “playing” with and now we are saying “hold on a minute” stop the plays and let’s have some people who are not part of the Council echo chamber to scrutinise this.”
Deputy Leader, Cllr Cathy Mitchell, said: “The cross-party Audit and Corporate Governance Committee considers matters related to investment decisions and finance, and if members wish to discuss issues not currently on the work programme but which fall within the remit of this group, they are able to request this via the Chair.
“Separately, elected members can routinely request access to information from officers which will be made available to them as necessary and if permissible. A number of requests for information by elected members are currently being assessed. However, with specific reference to Together Energy, we need to allow the administrators to complete their work to ensure the maximum returns for all of the company’s creditors and whilst this process is ongoing we cannot comment on detailed matters related to the company.”
