Middlesbrough Council to escape further action, auditor says

Auditors say they will not take further action against a Teesside council after steps were taken to tackle problems.

A damning report published in July found a "pervasive lack of trust" at Middlesbrough Council among elected members and between council officers and politicians.

It also unlawfully employed an adviser and made wrongful payments to a publicity firm.

Financial firm EY said the authority had since taken "appropriate" action.

However, it added it would continue to monitor progress and could step in if further improvements are not implemented.

A report to be discussed at Monday's corporate affairs and audit committee meeting states: "It is clear that significant barriers to implementation of the improvement plan exist, however, the actions taken to date have been appropriate and given sufficient prominence amongst elected members and senior officers.

"On this basis, we do not consider that it is either necessary or would be beneficial to escalate our recommendation through the exercise of additional auditor reporting powers at this time."

EY did though express concern over whether all issues previously raised can be resolved, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The auditor noted "significant concern" among a number of stakeholders over the council's ability "to deliver on these actions".

"It will take all of the council's elected members and senior officers working together to address the issues faced by the council, however, it remains unclear whether this can be achieved," the report says.

In an effort to address issues raised in the summer, the authority appointed accounting body the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (Cipfa) which found there was a clash of cultures between staff and members.

Employees at the council, which is under no party's overall control, reported feeling bullied, intimidated, and embarrassed by politicians' behaviour.

An improvement plan has now been finalised, politically balanced working groups established and regular meetings are taking place between chief executive Tony Parkinson and independent elected mayor Andy Preston.

But Labour group leader Matt Storey said it was "worrying" EY was "not convinced" the authority could remedy all the highlighted issues.

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