Blaenau Gwent council's finances probed by police

An investigation is under way into "alleged financial discrepancies" at Blaenau Gwent council.

Gwent Police said they related to "aspects of waste management services" but no arrests had been made.

The Wales Audit Office (WAO) said it passed "specific concerns" to the force earlier this year.

The council said the investigation did not reflection its financial management and related to its arrangements with Silent Valley Waste Services.

The WAO is responsible for providing an opinion on whether financial statements give a true and fair view of the financial position of public bodies.

A spokesman stressed the referral it made earlier this year did not mean it was of the view that any offences had been committed.

However, while the investigation takes place it has put on hold moves to certify the council's accounts.

This process had already been delayed because there were £12.85m of "misstatements" in 2017-18 and £8.63m in 2016-17.

Auditors also found four out of a sample of 55 income and expenditure payments were accounted for in the wrong year.

"If this sample were representative of the whole population, it could mean an estimated error of £827,000 with expenditure being overstated," it read.

While the WAO report says these have now been corrected by management, the delays they caused coupled with the ongoing police investigation means the authority faces a "significant challenge" to certify its accounts before a September 30 deadline.

In a statement, the local authority said: "The council's accounts for 2017-18 are currently unable to be signed off by the Auditor General for Wales due to an ongoing Gwent Police investigation into potential governance and financial irregularities.

"It must be emphasised that this is no reflection on the council's financial management and budget planning which is extremely robust, but relates to one specific area, our arrangements with Silent Valley Waste Services Ltd.

"The 2016-17 accounts are also not signed off for the same reason."