03/28/2024

Wales News Online

Local & National News for Wales

Council internal investigation into relationship with Silent Valley Waste Services

BLAENAU GWENT Council will conduct an internal investigation as a result of a critical Audit Wales report into the relationship between the council and Silent Valley Waste Services Limited to ensure it “will never ever happen again.”

Silent Valley Waste Services Limited (Silent Valley), is a company owned and controlled by the authority.

The four year investigation by Audit Wales highlighted that the council failed to establish robust and effective arrangements in its relationship with Silent Valley between 2003 and 2017.

At a special meeting, 7 February, councillors voted to accept the report and authorized that Ms Morris now prepare a written response with Auditor General Wales, Adrian Crompton. This will be published in a local newspaper, as required under the Public Audit (Wales) Act.

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The “significant concerns” that the council failed to do are:

Correctly approve pay and pension arrangements in respect of council officers appointed to the Silent Valley board;

Comply with procurement regulations in respect of services provided by Silent Valley;

Ensure that council appointments to the Silent Valley board complied with the council’s constitution;

Establish proper governance and oversight arrangements in respect of Silent Valley from 2012 onwards to ensure accountability for the use of public resources;

Establish proper arrangements to manage potential conflicts of interest in respect of council officers appointed to Silent Valley’s board, resulting in those officers being exposed to allegations that some of their actions were motivated by self-interest;

Ensure that decisions to make termination payments to Silent Valley directors were in accordance with the law;

Put in place competitive and robust arrangements for the recruitment of Silent Valley’s new general manager, (the company’s most senior officer) in 2016.

Cllr Stephen Thomas, Labour group leader, said:

“There can be no doubt that it contains the most unacceptable revelations of behaviour seen by this council, it’s hard to see how it could get any worse.

“A member of the public described them to me as pigs with their snouts in the trough, and after reading this report those sentiments are inevitable and Blaenau Gwent’s name will be dragged through the muck.

“We should reflect these officers were from the highest tiers of our organisation, chief executives and directors.

“It makes me uneasy to think we relied on these people to prepare reports for our consideration and take essential decision on behalf of the residents of this borough.”

Cllr Thomas added:

“We should satisfy ourselves that the culture and deficiencies found in the audit no longer persist.”

“There’s been no internal investigation and I believe if we’re true about wanting to put these things right once and for all, we should do that.”

The recommendation was seconded by Cllr Phil Edwards leader of the minority independent group.

Council leader, Cllr Nigel Daniels said:

“It’s disappointing to read what is undoubtedly the unpalatable content of the auditor general’s report and I certainly offer no dispute or mitigation for anything that’s contained in that.

“I agree with much that Cllr Thomas has said, it’s highly disappointing particular the calibre of officers we were talking about and the trust and faith we put in them.

“It offers some comfort that the report recognises  that since 2017 the council has taken action to address the deficiency in respect to Silent Valley.”

Cllr Daniels added an extra part to the recommendation put forward by Cllr Thomas that:  “appropriate council officers meet with audit Wales to jointly determine the approach and scope of that review and then it’s reported back through the council’s democratic processes.”

 

 

 

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