Full inquiry into council ‘whitewash’
Scarborough Council leader Derek Bastiman has bowed to public pressure to hold an external inquiry into the damning “whitewash” report into allegations of corruption within the authority.
As reported by The Scarborough News, Ben Marriott recently won a constructive dismissal claim against the council after tribunal judges ruled that he had no choice but to resign after the council failed to properly investigate his claims that senior managers were using council contractors to have work done on their homes in return for taxpayer-funded contracts down the line.
The judges labelled the council’s report into Mr Marriott’s allegations as “a whitewash” and said it appeared councillors were “misled” into dismissing the claims.
The council maintains that it disputes elements of the judgement, with the tribunal agreeing to look again
at certain aspects of it later this year. Cllr Bastiman said: “I cannot comment in detail while the case is ongoing, but I want to reassure residents that I take the council’s governance responsibilities very seriously.
“This is why I have chosen not to wait until the tribunal reconsiders aspects of the judgement to initiate an external review. Having immediately instigated an internal review upon receipt of the judgement, I also believe it is right and proper that independent external auditors look into and review the matter.” The council has instructed Mazars, an integrated and independent organisation specialising in audit, accountancy, tax and consulting services, to undertake the review.
Mazarsisoneo fa number of private sector firms appointed by central government to take on the audit and compliance role that was formerly the responsibility of the now dissolved Audit Commission. It reviews the council’s accounts on an annual basis.
The judges also found it was not in dispute that a council manager sent a van and a staff member on a 60-mile round trip to collect a rabbit hutch they had bought on eBay.
Following the publication of the damning report by The Scarborough News the borough’s residents been vocal in their calls for an external inquiry.Labour leader, Cllr Steve Sid dons, who also called for an external inquiry said: “I welcome this news. There needs to be an independent look into what happened and I look forward to finding out more about the timeframe and the scope of the inquiry.” However, Mr Marriott said he was not happy with the choice of Mazars. He said: “Mazars is the council’s independent auditor and works with them a lot. I think it needs to be done by a someone completely new who has no past links with the council.”