Watchdogs have ordered the region’s feuding political leaders to stop fighting, “play nicely” and work together or risk losing vital government money, in an “utterly damning” report. Auditors Grant Thornton found five “significant weaknesses” in the West of England Combined Authority’s ( Weca’s ) arrangements to secure value for money (VfM) in its use of resources.
They concluded: “The presence of such a large number of significant governance weakness is a major concern.” The finance experts also found that the way a top officer was given a £59,000 golden handshake placed the organisation “at the potential risk of committing to an unlawful payment”.
The 2020/21 VfM audit report makes three legally-binding “statutory recommendations”, which are the most serious that can be applied to a public body and must be reported to government and addressed as an “urgent priority”. Grant Thornton has issued such recommendations to only six of the 180 local authorities whose books it has examined this year – one in 30 – a Weca audit committee meeting was told.
