Yahoo News Parliamentary committee calls for further investigation of Teesworks scheme
A Parliamentary committee has raised the pressure on the Government to further investigate the Teesworks development after urging Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove to send in National Audit Office investigators.
The massive development, which aims to bring thousands of jobs to Teesside, has been mired in controversy, particularly over a deal with Tees Valley mayor Lord Houchen which saw private developers take a 90% share in the redevelopment of the former steelworks site.
Ministers resisted calls from Labour politicians locally and nationally to task the National Audit Office with investigating the developing, instead setting up an independent review which reported earlier this year. That review found no evidence of criminality or corruption linked to the Teesworks scheme but did criticise its governance and transparency and found that some decisions were not of a high enough standard when managing public money.
READ MORE: Steve Gibson talks Teesworks and why he believes Ben Houchen must go
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Now the Commons Business and Trade Committee - which includes Middlesbrough MP Andy McDonald, a long-time critic of Teesworks, but also MPs from other parties - has said the “gravity and breadth” of the review means a further investigation by the National Audit Office is needed. The call has come as part of the committee’s report on freeports and investment zones, which the Government hopes will bring new jobs to areas like Teesside.
The committee said: “We agree with the Tees Valley Review Panel that it is the responsibility of the public authority, in this case Tees Valley Combined Authority, to ensure that appropriate checks and balances are in place such that any venture with the public sector reflects the Nolan principles of openness and transparency as well as value for money and public returns. All recommendations in the Tees Valley Review should be implemented in full.”
It adds: “To recognise Teesside Freeport’s flagship status, to address the gravity and breadth of the concerns raised by the Tees Valley Review, to extend scrutiny beyond the limited remit of the Tees Valley Review and to assure the public that taxpayers’ money has been disbursed appropriately and legally, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities must direct the National Audit Office to scrutinise the expenditure of public funds associated with Teesside Freeport, Tees Valley Combined Authority and South Tees Development Corporation.”
The Teesworks and freeport project aims to redevelop Redcar ’s former steelworks. It was set up as a joint venture between the South Tees Development Corporation and companies run by two local developers. The partnership was initially on a 50-50 basis but was transferred to majority private ownership in late 2021.
The report into the scheme made 28 recommendations to improve the handling of the scheme, which include a suggestion that the South Tees Development Corporation should try to negotiate a better deal for taxpayers from the Teesworks joint venture. Lord Houchen has said that he agrees with all the report’s recommendations.
The committee report comes just a day after former South Tees Development Corporation board members Steve Gibson, the Middlesbrough FC chairman, and Paul Booth, former chair of the Tees Valley LEP, criticised Lord Houchen for his handling Teesworks project.
A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesperson said: “The Secretary of State already commissioned an independent report into the South Tees Development Corporation and Teesworks joint venture which found no evidence of corruption or illegality. “It is not the National Audit Office’s role to audit or examine individual local authorities. The review was independent and expert, and Mayor Houchen has accepted all recommendations in the report.
“As this report recognises, freeports are key to levelling up and in just two years have generated nearly £3bn investment that will create thousands of jobs – with Teesside generating the most jobs and investment, as the Secretary of State highlighted in his response to the committee earlier this year.”
The Gazette has contacted Lord Houchen and the Tees Valley Combined Authority for comment.
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