Thursday 15 June 2023 will be remembered for the publication of the damning report into the behaviour of the former Prime Minister Boris Johnson. It is also the day that Essex County Council published its own report following its investigation into Thurrock Council.
Thurrock Council’s error was to borrow money excessively in order to invest in schemes which did not pay back, and to fail to ensure proper oversight of investment decisions.
What the report found
Essex County Council’s report found that “The effective running of the council and its ability to deliver on its ambitions have been undermined by failures in political and managerial leadership” and that this in turn led to Thurrock Council being placed into a state of “unconscious incompetence”.
That incompetence has forced Thurrock to make a 9.99% increase in the council tax rate for residents, and to borrow over £600million to cover the debt burden for this financial year. The council has already had to write off £275million of investments.
Failure of leadership
The probe highlighted how the former Director of Finance and IT, Sean Clark, had been given sweeping delegated authority to borrow over £1bn from other local authorities for investment purposes. Mr Clark was suspended while the investigation continued, and received £58,556.47 in salary and £11,594 in pension contributions during his suspension. He resigned in January 2023. He was not alone in being criticised in the report. Former Chief Executive Lyn Carpenter resigned in December 2022.
In effect, those people who had responsibility to know were neither kept informed, nor did they choose to check what was happening.
Recommendations and reality
Thurrock is now under the leadership of Dr David Smith, who was appointed by the Secretary of State to take control of the council, which has already been stripped of the power to recruit and dismiss staff.
The report makes nine recommendations. Dr Smith is to have wide powers to initiate a recovery plan and address the weaknesses identified in the report.
In terms of what this means for Thurrock and local services, the report is clear: “The Council’s financial position means it is inevitable that, in addition to making extensive efficiency savings, it will have to make a significant and rapid reduction in the scope of local services. Many services, which have been relatively well funded over the past decade may, as a consequence, be equipped to do little more than the statutory minimum for the foreseeable future.”
The people responsible for the investments and poor leadership have resigned from their roles. But the story is not over. East Anglia Bylines plans to bring you more news from Thurrock in the coming weeks.
