Some of Bristol City Council’s biggest and most controversial deals should be investigated by finance watchdogs, an opposition councillor claims. Conservative Cllr Geoff Gollop has called on the authority’s external auditors Grant Thornton to examine major projects including City Leap, Bristol Heat Networks and Temple Island to ensure they provide taxpayers value for money (VfM) and that the decisions were made properly.
The council’s top finance officer said in response that discussions were taking place with Grant Thornton to decide which areas to cover in depth for the 2021/22 VfM audit. She said these would include checking progress on 13 key recommendations the auditors made in their previous year’s “damning” report which blamed the authority for the Bristol Beacon’s revamp costs doubling and found officers broke the rules on awarding contracts 203 times in 2020/21.
Cllr Gollop told the council’s audit committee on Monday, September 26, that Grant Thornton should also focus on several other grand plans when it goes through City Hall’s books for the latest financial year. Speaking during public forum, the Westbury-on-Trym & Henleaze ward councillor, who is not on the committee, said members should be concerned enough to draw auditors’ attention to areas where there was “insufficient information” available publicly to assure value for money and proper decision-making.
