The Leader of Nottingham City Council says he has not seen a recent report which criticised financial controls at the authority in full. Accounting firm Ernst & Young (EY) said last month that urgent action was needed to avoid the risk of "inappropriate financial activity" at Nottingham City Council.
Its review was carried out after concerns arose in 2021 about money which should have been spent on the council's housing stock being illegally spent in other areas. EY found that issues remaining at Nottingham City Council included missing records and a culture which is holding back the authority's ability to provide "proper financial stewardship".
A summary of EY's findings was prepared by Nottingham City Council and shared with its elected members. But the authority has refused to publish EY's report in full, previously saying: "It is not in the public interest to disclose this information because full disclosure at this stage may impact on further activity that still needs to be undertaken."
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Opposition councillors on the authority said they had not seen the full report. But Labour's Councillor David Mellen, the Leader of Nottingham City Council, has now confirmed that even he has not seen the full EY report.
Asked the question during a full meeting of the council on Monday (July 10), Councillor Mellen said: "I have not seen the full report prepared by EY.
"Given the complex and serious issues... I have been guided by the professional advice of the council's Section 151 officer." He later added: "I am confident that EY's findings have been fully explained to councillors through the comprehensive briefings delivered by our 151 officer...The recent audit committee report did not underplay the seriousness of the issues found. "
Nottingham Independent Councillor Kevin Clarke, the leader of the opposition, sought to clarify the issue by asking: "Are you saying that you've not seen any more than members on this opposition bench have seen?"
Councillor Mellen once again said he had received "detailed briefings" from the council's Section 151 officer, who he said had not put a "rose tint" on it. Labour's Councillor Michael Edwards claimed during the meeting that EY's findings were "not as dramatic as once heard."
But Councillor Mellen added: "I wouldn't want to underplay the problem, but I do believe it's something that we can address." The key issues found by EY included "extensive records either incomplete... or in many cases, missing." Of issues identified, EY says half of them could be blamed on a lack of, or inappropriate, evidence.
Ross Brown, the Corporate Director Finance and Resources at Nottingham City Council and its Section 151 officer, previously said about EY's findings: "We're committed to reviewing all our financial processes as part of our wider improvement journey. We have already taken action to address the findings of the assessment but further work is needed. An initial three-month strategy is already in place which will work alongside our wider financial improvement plan."
