SNP want ‘secret’ report sent out to all NL councillors
North Lanarkshire Council’s SNP Group have this week demanded copies of a secret auditors report on alleged corrupt practices be sent to all elected members.
The moves follow reports the council overspent £20.1 million on seven contracts worth a mere fraction of the public money spent.
However, the saga has taken a new twist in that North Lanarkshire Provost Jim Robertson has ruled the wording of the Nationalists’ motion is not competent and that it will not be placed on the agenda of a full council meeting set to take place later this month.
SNP Group deputy leader Tom Johnston, who submitted the motion, said: “It is totally unacceptable that elected councillors should read on alleged corruption in the press before finding out first-hand from the council itself.
“It appears that a small inner circle in the Labour camp will have copies of this council report, with everyone else kept in the dark.
“We have been elected by the people and we have the right to be informed about these developments.
“North Lanarkshire Council is lunging from crisis to crisis – six resignations from the ruling Labour Group plus threats to stand as independents, three officials suspended and a call for police to investigate the former council leader.
“Now we have a secret alleged corruption dossier which is currently hidden from elected members. The people of North Lanarkshire are sick of this whole rotten mess.
“The SNP Group want the secret dossier sent to all 70 elected councillors as quickly as possible.
“It is clear that the Labour administration is in a total mess regarding this investigation.
“Is there a privileged inner circle of councillors who know what is going on?
“Is this affair off- limits for councillors until next May’s council elections are safely past?”
The contracts, awarded under the previous leadership of Jim McCabe and his deputy Jim Smith, have been the subject of a report by the auditors and has been passed to members of the council’s audit and governance panel.
Councillor McCabe quit as council leader earlier this year after 18 years in charge at the council.
He denies any wrong-doing in the allegations which relate to over-inflated contracts.
A probe into the allegations, ordered earlier this year by new council leader Jim Logue was supported by the SNP opposition and has already sparked disciplinary action against serving officials and one retired official.
Paul Jukes, chief executive of North Lanarkshire Council, said: “No-one other than those who need to know about the details of the report will receive a copy of it until the disciplinary process has been exhausted.
“It is regrettable that a copy appears to have been leaked to a journalist.
“However, it would be wholly wrong – and a serious breach of employees’ rights - to share it more widely until those subject to disciplinary proceedings have had the opportunity to respond formally to allegations made against them.
“I have already made it quite clear that the report will be shared with members of the council’s audit and governance panel when it is appropriate to do so, and not before.
“The panel will consider the report and its recommendations at that point.”