Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillor Forster and Councillor Raja.

(i)         To receive declarations of disclosable pecuniary and other interests from Members in respect of any item to be considered at the meeting.

(ii)        In accordance with the Officer Employment Procedure Rules, the Strategic Director - Corporate Resources, Kevin Foster declares a disclosable personal interest (non-pecuniary) in any items concerning the companies of which he is a Council-appointed director. The companies are listed in the attached schedule. The interests are such that Mr Foster may advise on those items.

(iii)      In accordance with the Officer Employment Procedure Rules, the Head of Transformation, Digital and Customer Services, Adam Walther, declares a disclosable personal interest (non-pecuniary) in any items concerning the companies of which he is a Council-appointed director. The companies are listed in the attached schedule. The interests are such that Mr Walther may advise on those items.

In accordance with the Officer Employment Procedure Rules, the Strategic Director - Corporate Resources, Kevin Foster declared a disclosable personal interest (non-pecuniary) in any items concerning the companies of which he was a Council-appointed director.  The companies were listed in an attached schedule.  The interests were such that Mr Foster could advise on those items.

To approve the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 26 September 2024, as published.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 26 September 2024 be approved and signed as a true and correct record.

The Mayor reported on the events and activities she had participated in since the previous meeting of Council.  These had included the remembrance services in the Borough, the Diwali celebrations and a variety of festivals and meetings.

To consider any business which the Chairman rules may be dealt with under Section 100B(4) of the Local Government Act 1972.

No items of Urgent Business were considered.

To receive questions from Members of the Public of which due notice has been given.

Four questions had been received from members of public.  The questions, together with the replies from the Leader of the Council, were presented as follows:

Question 1 – Andy Caulfield

“In light of the long awaited and much anticipated Grant Thornton report into (some of) WBCs historical failings leading to an unprecedented debt, will the Council, Commissioners and new Government now further fully investigate behaviours of key individuals and transactions over the relevant years for (inter alia) legality, lawfulness, ultra vires, appropriate authority, proceeds of sales, financial impropriety and potentially Misfeasance in public office.”

Supporting information

“This report confirms residents long held worst fears, as flagged in our 2021 petition heard by the full Council in July 2021 - https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/hundreds-demand-inquiry-former-woking

On the back of Dr Gifty Edila and the O&S task group findings of serious failures on the Woking FC / GolDev. Project.”

Reply from Councillor Ann-Marie Barker

“Commissioners will consider the position of those named in the report and whether further action is necessary.  This is reflected in the report to Council.”

Question 2 – Anthony Fraser

“A number of the senior officers singled out in the report were members of professional bodies.

Can the Council assure residents that, at the very least, it will refer these individuals to their respective professional bodies to investigate whether their actions (or inactions) breached any of the relevant professional standards?”

Reply from Councillor Ann-Marie Barker

“Commissioners will consider the position of those named in the report and whether further action is necessary. This is reflected in the report to Council. This will include whether any referrals should be made to relevant professional bodies.”

Question 3 – Anthony Fraser

“The Grant Thornton report highlights the actions of a small number of individuals, all of whom have now left the Council. Beyond that, it makes more general governance and procedural observations, many of which have already been brought out in the Government’s External Assurance Review in May 2023. Structures and procedures are all well and good, but it also requires officers and members to take personal ownership, ask questions and challenge where appropriate to make sure that governance works effectively in practice.

I would be interested therefore to hear what personal lessons members and officers have taken away from these events, particularly those who were with the Council during this period.”

Reply from Councillor Ann-Marie Barker

“The Grant Thornton report contains lessons for all of us at Woking Borough Council. Through the delivery of the Improvement and Recovery Plan, we are already putting in place changes to our governance structures and processes to enable the Council to take effective decisions in the future and avoid making the mistakes of the past. However, as Mr Fraser rightly points out, we cannot rely on structural changes alone. Robust governance is also reliant on the effective challenge and continued political curiosity of Members. The Grant Thornton report recommends improvements in the training and development of both Members and officers, to ensure that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

No questions have been received from Members of the Council.

No questions had been received from Members of the Council.

In accordance with Standing Orders, the Council to receive any announcements from the Leader of the Council (or their nominated spokesperson), Committee Chairmen and/or the Chief Executive.

No announcements were made.

RESOLVED

That  (i)    the recommendations set out in the Grant Thornton Public Interest Report be accepted in full;

          (ii)   the Council’s Improvement and Recovery Plan be reviewed and updated as necessary to take account of the PIR findings and recommendations;

          (iii)  the Council notes that Commissioners will consider taking forward further enquiries arising from the report;

          (iv)  the Council notes that the Chief Executive has contacted Surrey Police already to make clear that, should any evidence emerge of criminality or misfeasance in public office, this will be referred to them for investigation; and

          (v)   the Council places on record its apology to local residents for its failings in the past.

The Leader of the Council introduced the Public Interest Report which had been published by Grant Thornton earlier in November.  The report followed a year-long investigation into Woking Borough Council’s historic approach to investments and borrowing, and outlined a series of recommendations drawn up in light of the findings.

It was noted that Grant Thornton had been appointed to (i) provide a comprehensive overview of the events and decisions that had culminated in the unprecedented financial challenge facing the Council; and (ii) help the Authority ensure it addressed the fundamental weaknesses in its historic approach, so that action could be taken to rectify these to eliminate the risk of any repetition in the future.  The period reviewed covered twenty years.

Under the provisions of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014, the Authority had a legal duty to hold an Extraordinary Meeting of Council to consider the Public Interest Report and determine its response.  The Council and the Government appointed Commissioners would review the Authority’s Improvement and Recovery Plan to assess the degree to which it might need expanding to take into account the Report’s findings.  Furthermore, the Commissioners would consider a number of specific issues and act upon them if necessary, including the position of those named in the report. 

The Leader advised that the report before Council proposed that the recommendations drawn up by Grant Thornton should be accepted in full and that the Improvement and Recovery Plan should be reviewed in light of the report’s findings. 

The Mayor stated that, in view of the importance of the Extraordinary Meeting, she intended to move the suspension of the provision within Standing Orders that limited the number of times each individual Councillor could speak.  Members were encouraged to be succinct in their questions and avoid repeating points made earlier in the discussion. 

Accordingly the Mayor moved and the Deputy Mayor seconded the suspension of Standing Order 18.8 which limited the Councillors to speaking once on the matter before them.

The motion was agreed unanimously and it was

RESOLVED

That Standing Order 18.8 be suspended to allow Elected Members to speak more than once in respect of the Public Interest Report.

Before moving to the debate, the Mayor welcomed to the meeting Joanne Brown, Guy Clifton and Paul Dossett from Grant Thornton and invited them to introduce the Public Interest Report.

The Council was advised that the review had identified fundamental weaknesses and failure to evidence best value.  The Council had not put in place a clear corporate plan and had followed a non-strategic approach. 

The Council had pursued a long history of borrowing to fund capital projects alongside investments in loans to Council companies and a number of third parties.  Borrowing and investment activities had expanded over the years on the premise that the Council would be able to afford to pay back the loans over a longer period of time, typically up to and over 50 years.  The level of borrowing increased from £400m in 2017 to a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

No notices of motion have been received from Members of the Council

No notices of motion had been received from Elected Members.