Anger over council watchdog investigation delay (From Wirral Globe)

Anger over council watchdog investigation delay

8:10am Saturday 11th February 2012 in News Exclusive By Leigh Marles

PLANS to hold an open debate on an inquiry by local government watchdog the Audit Commission into the handling of a Wirral Council contract are in danger of being scrapped.

A delay in finalising the commission's report has triggered disagreement between a Wirral MP and the chief executive of the council about who is responsible for the hold-up.

Last month, the authority took the unusual step of announcing a special meeting of the full council would be called to consider the implications of two major investigations.

Council leader Cllr Steve Foulkes called for all 66 members to be summoned to the town hall for an "extraordinary meeting" at which the findings of the inquiries would be debated and discussed.

The first concerned the highly-damaging report from independent consultant Anna Klonowski into claims made by former council employee Martin Morton about abuses in adult social services.

The second was the Audit Commission’s probe into the handling of the authority’s out-sourced highways maintenance contract.

It now appears the council has not yet received a final draft of the auditor's review.

The delay makes it impossible for members to have sufficient time to get to grips with the report's contents before the scheduled meeting on Monday.

Birkenhead Labour MP Frank Field is furious.

Last week he told a parliamentary debate that officers of the council had been "incompetent and crassly inefficient" and suggested Government commissioners should be brought in to oversee the authority's affairs.

Today he accused the council of having “kicked the audit report into the long grass.”

He told the Globe: “This report was delivered to Wirral Council’s senior officers on December 21, allowing them to make any relevant comments and then return it.

“They held onto it until January 31 before doing so.

"The auditor turned it around very quickly, sending it back to Wirral for final comment on February 5 – but the officers are still wrangling over it, thus preventing it from being ready in time for Monday.

“I have spoken to the Audit Commission today and have pleaded with them to impose a strict time limit for the officers to make their final comments.”

Wirral Council chief executive Jim Wilkie denied that the authority was the cause of the delay.

He said: “Council officers have co-operated fully throughout this process.

“The reason for the report not being provided within the timescales originally envisaged is a result of decisions taken by the District Auditor and is not in the hands of officers.”

In October, the Globe exclusively revealed that Mr Field had called on the Serious Fraud Office to investigate the handling of the contract.

The UK investigations agency was asked to step in following allegations made to the MP by a group of council whistle-blowers.

The Klonowski investigation debate will still be held on Monday as planned.

* Councillor Foulkes will be fighting for his political life on Monday evening as he faces two motions of "no confidence" in his leadership brought by Conservative and Lib Dem groups.