No danger of English style meltdown in council funding here
Not on my watch, says council finance boss
Budget blunders that left an English council needing £ 65 million of cuts to survive will not happen in Renfrewshire, according to finance experts.
Cash-strapped Northamptonshire County Council was forced to take drastic measures this year after financial mismanagement meant they were faced with a £70 million shortfall.
But Renfrewshire Council isn’t “anywhere near exposed” to a similar situation, as officers guaranteed its bookkeeping is “robust” and “transparent”.
Speaking at Monday’s Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board, finance manager Lisa Dickie gave a “hand- on- heart” assurance that the council was in a strong position.
Conservative Councillor Tom Begg asked Ms Dickie for “the bottom line” on how exposed Renfrewshire is to a “Northamptonshire situation”.
She responded: “I don’t think we are anywhere near exposed, by any means. I say that hand on heart.
“We have got robust financial controls in place. I have been here for many years and we have never been exposed to anything near it.”
Ms Dickie had given elected members a briefing on the problems in Northamptonshire, explaining the measures in place in Renfrewshire to avoid a financial meltdown.
Among the mistakes made down south were a lack of financial controls, no transparency to elected members and senior management, and poor leadership.
It saw a section 114 notice – a ban on all new spending with the exception of statutory services for protecting vulnerable people – issued to a council for the first time in more than 20 years.
Ms Dickie said she understood “a culture of overspending” had become acceptable and elected members should have held their council to account.
She added: “They should have been asking more questions, like ‘Why are we not getting regular budget monitoring reports?’”
Labour Councillor Jim Sharkey asked: “If they weren’t getting information from officers, how would they know what questions to ask?”
Ms Dickie responded: “I think they should be asking why they were not getting that information.
“This wasn’t something that happened overnight. It was building up over a number of years.”
She stressed she would not allow the same mistakes to happen on her watch.
“They haven’t alluded to much within annual audit reports,” she added.
“But from what I’m seeing, it’s come from the top.
“I’m a control freak, I ask questions if I don’t see something I should be seeing.”
This led Councillor Begg to ask where the axe should fall.
Ms Dickie said: “The axe fell on the leader and the chief executive – and the chief financial officer. I believe he resigned.
“I don’t think it’s fair to point the finger at one person. It’s got to be a number of people who are responsible.”