Councillors drop challenge to £11.5m loan deal

A CROSS-party group of borough councillors at Warrington has dropped its challenge to a controversial decision to loan £11.5 million to Warrington Collegiate – because the college no longer wants the loan.
Former Labour education chief Cllr Colin Froggatt, who led the “call in” process, announced today that following the Collegiate’s declaration that it was withdrawing from entering into a loan arrangement with the council, it had been agreed to now withdrawn from the call in process.
The decision has been made after “much consideration and some reservations” said Cllr Froggatt (pictured)
He added: “By way of explanation the reservations were, that the executive board have gone through a decision making process which was and is still deserving of scrutiny.
“However this has highlighted a wider issue concerning the council’s borrowing, lending, debt levels and investment activities which is a matter for consideration by the scrutiny committee in relation to its work programme.
“It is felt that the scrutiny process would be better served by pursuing this route.”
Cllr Froggatt added: “I would also like to thank the executive board for allowing the scrutiny process to follow its natural and constitutional course despite the eventual conclusion to this particular process.”
Cllr Froggatt – who won the support of Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative councillors for his “call in” – originally claimed the decision to grant the loan was outside the Budget and/or Policy Planning Framework, that there had been a lack of consultation and that professional advice had not been given due consideration.
He also complained the decision – made by the executive board in private on July 13 – had not been sufficiently open.
The Collegiate has stressed that it had put an investment opportunity to the council with complete propriety and had engaged with the authority in an open and transparent manner.