Bankrupt Woking council apologises for its "shameful" past that has led to tax hikes and service cuts
Woking Borough Council has apologised for the “shameful” behaviour of its past. The bankrupt council met last night to hear from the authors of the long-awaited review into how the authority went bust.
The council saddled itself with debts of about £2billion - borrowed to fund failed investments and regeneration that has left residents facing years of huge tax hikes and cuts to services.
The Grant Thornton Report found 'potentially unlawful' lending, failures of leadership, borrowing to lend to third parties, a £3m "opportunities fund” overseen by the former chief executive Ray Morgan, potential scope for conflicts of interest, and poor decision making such as borrowing £700m to buy an asset now worth approximately £205m.
READ MORE: Millions in UK at risk as common sleep disorder linked to dementia and heart issues
READ MORE: Tennis centre on site of Surrey school completely destroyed as residents told to close windows
The council held the extraordinary meeting to consider the report’s findings where, as expected, it accepted the findings and recommendations in full. Surrey Police has been contacted by the borough's chief executive to make clear that any evidence of criminality or misfeasance in public office will be referred to them for investigation.
Although it is unclear, given the state of record keeping during the period in question, what the outcomes of this may be, the meeting heard.
A separate legal challenge pursued through the courts could be explored, but would require new instructions from the council. Not on the original papers, but added during the debate, was the formal apology.
Cllr Leslie Rice ( Liberal Democrats; Heathlands) said: “Humility does not belong to the political class generally. A humble politician is an oxymoron or a paradox I’m not sure which. But I think in this situation...we should be showing collective humility this evening as Woking Borough Council.
“While we are different members of the council, the council itself is responsible for these legacy problems, these historical problems. We should apologise to the people of Woking. The situation we have is shameful.
“It's shameful (too) on our government, our historic governments going way back, that we completely lack proper regulation and oversight of the local government sector. We should apologise to the people of Woking.”
The two and a half hour meeting began with leader of the opposition Cllr Amanda Boote (Independent; Byfleet and West Byfleet) paying tribute to former member John Bond, a long-standing critic of the council’s financial handling, but who died earlier this year.
Her words were echoed by many of those who spoke.
Addressing the council, she called the report cathartic, shocking and sad “especially for all of the residents of Woking who we have collectively let down. She said: “Residents will continue to feel the impact of this for many many years to come.
“I think the most important thing is we have to learn lessons now, hard lessons so that history can never repeat itself.” She added: “I want to pay tribute to my predecessor and founder of our independent group the late councillor John Bond.
“Since first becoming a councillor in 2014 and until he retired in 2021 Cllr Bond fought constantly to highlight the wrongdoings of the previous corporate management group and of the previous administration. “Highlighting the wholly inadequate governance, poor investment decisions, poor accounting lack of transparency.
“And it's sad that he was belittled and laughed at. He even resorted to writing many newspaper articles to try to get his voice heard. This is not about political point scoring but I couldn't let tonight go by without paying tribute to Councillor Bond and all of his hard work and scrutiny in trying to stop this disaster from ever happening.”
In a statement released after the meeting, Cllr Ann-Marie Barker, leader of Woking Borough Council, said that the Grant Thornton public interest report confirmed what many residents already felt; that their council had let them down.
She said: "Years of mismanagement, poor governance and a disregard for the risks have left our community burdened with unsustainable debt. These systemic failings betrayed the trust residents placed in the council and have had far-reaching consequences.
“On behalf of Woking Borough Council I want to apologise for these unacceptable failings of the past. She added:“We cannot undo the failures of the past, but we can and must learn from them. By implementing the auditor’s recommendations, we are taking decisive action to secure a better future for Woking and the residents we serve.”