A bunch of local politicians whose squabbling could risk losing millions of pounds for the region have promised to try to get along better after being ordered to in a damning auditors’ report. The leaders of the West of England Combined Authority (Weca), headed by Labour metro mayor Dan Norris, approved an action plan to improve “strained relationships” following a series of high-profile bust-ups, name-calling and even a committee meeting boycott over the last 18 months.
It comes after finance watchdogs Grant Thornton found five “significant weaknesses” in the organisation’s value-for-money arrangements and made three statutory recommendations, which are the most serious that can be applied to a public body and must be addressed urgently. But even as the Weca committee, comprising Mr Norris and the leaders of the three councils that make up the combined authority – Bristol, South Gloucestershire and Bath & North East Somerset – agreed the steps to stop fighting and “play nicely”, there was division over how the action plan came about.
And it took two attempts for them to agree at all after their last meeting in November, where the measures should have been adopted, was abandoned after just six minutes because the three local authority heads were not happy with Weca’s response and demanded more details. At the latest committee on Friday, December 9, B&NES Council deputy leader Lib Dem Cllr Richard Samuel said the plan, committing leaders and senior officers to cooperate better, was only agreed after a flurry of emails “flying around” in the days before the meeting.
