Put in place competitive and robust arrangements for the recruitment of Silent Valley's new general manager, (the company's most senior officer) in 2016.Īt the special council meeting, councillor Wayne Hodgins said: "This has been going on for a number of years under all administrations, Labour, Independent, whatever - way back. The "significant concerns" that the council failed to do are:Ĭorrectly approve pay and pension arrangements in respect of council officers appointed to the Silent Valley board Ĭomply with procurement regulations in respect of services provided by Silent Valley Įnsure that council appointments to the Silent Valley board complied with the council's constitution Įstablish proper governance and oversight arrangements in respect of Silent Valley from 2012 onwards to ensure accountability for the use of public resources Įstablish proper arrangements to manage potential conflicts of interest in respect of council officers appointed to Silent Valley's board, resulting in those officers being exposed to allegations that some of their actions were motivated by self-interest Įnsure that decisions to make termination payments to Silent Valley directors were in accordance with the law "It offers some comfort that the report recognises that since 2017 the council has taken action to address the deficiency in respect to Silent Valley."Ĭllr Daniels added an extra part to the recommendation put forward by Cllr Thomas that: "appropriate council officers meet with audit Wales to jointly determine the approach and scope of that review and then it's reported back through the council's democratic processes."Ĭouncillors voted to accept the report and authorise that Ms Morris now prepare a written response with Mr Crompton, this will be published in a local newspaper, as required under the Public Audit (Wales) Act. "I agree with much that Cllr Thomas has said, it's highly disappointing particular the calibre of officers we were talking about and the trust and faith we put in them. The recommendation was seconded by Councillor Phil Edwards leader of the minority independent group.Ĭouncil leader, Councillor Nigel Daniels said: "It's disappointing to read what is undoubtedly the unpalatable content of the auditor general's report and I certainly offer no dispute or mitigation for anything that's contained in that. "There's been no internal investigation and I believe if we're true about wanting to put these things right once and for all, we should do that." "It makes me uneasy to think we relied on these people to prepare reports for our consideration and take essential decision on behalf of the residents of this borough."Ĭllr Thomas added that the Labour and Minority Independent groups both believed that there are "too many unanswered questions" coming from the report.Ĭllr Thomas said: "We should satisfy ourselves that the culture and deficiencies found in the audit no longer persist." "We should reflect these officers were from the highest tiers of our organisation, chief executives and directors. "A member of the public described them to me as pigs with their snouts in the trough, and after reading this report those sentiments are inevitable and Blaenau Gwent's name will be dragged through the muck. Labour group leader, Councillor Stephen Thomas said: "There can be no doubt that it contains the most unacceptable revelations of behaviour seen by this council, it's hard to see how it could get any worse. Mr Crompton acknowledged the steps taken by the council since in 2017 to establish "much improved" governance and oversight arrangements and the leadership of the managing director Michelle Morris on this matter. Wales auditor general, Adrian Crompton took councillors through the main points that his report raised and highlighted that that the council failed to establish robust and effective arrangements in its relationship with Silent Valley between 20.
Read more: You can find more stories about Blaenau Gwent here. The report is the fruit of a four-year investigation and delves back as far as the formation of the company more than 30 years ago. Silent Valley Waste Services Limited (Silent Valley), is a company owned and controlled by the authority. An internal investigation will take place to ensure that the significant concerns highlighted by an Audit Wales report into the relationship between Blaenau Gwent council and Silent Valley Waste Services Limited "will never ever happen again".Īt a special meeting of Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council on Monday, February 7, councillors looked at the findings of the report and to agree a way forward from the controversy.