WARRINGTON Borough Council’s Labour Cabinet has been accused of failing to properly scrutinise serious weaknesses in the authority’s risk management arrangements after councillors reportedly failed to ask a single question about a critical report.
The Liberal Democrat Opposition Group criticised the Cabinet following consideration of the council’s risk report and strategic risk update at its meeting on Monday, November 9.
The group claims the reports highlighted significant shortcomings in how the authority identifies, monitors and manages risks, but that Cabinet members failed to challenge the findings or seek further explanations.
Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, Cllr Helen Speed, said the lack of questioning was particularly concerning given the issues identified in the reports.
“The risks are obvious from the reports in front of Cabinet, but you would never have known it from the meeting. There were no questions and no challenge. One Cabinet member called the report an ‘interesting read’ and another called it ‘fascinating’,” she said.
Cllr Speed said that when an update was requested on problems with the council’s finance and HR systems, no information was available.
“Calling a risk report fascinating is not the same as getting to grips with it. This felt like a choreographed performance, not the scrutiny residents have a right to expect.”
Liberal Democrat Shadow Portfolio Holder for Communities, Culture and Leisure, Cllr Sharon Harris, said the report identified a series of weaknesses in the council’s approach to risk management.
These included inconsistent risk registers, unclear accountability, poor reporting, risks failing to be escalated, a lack of training for elected members and weaknesses in governance.
She highlighted particularly concerning wording within the report, which stated that “things are hidden in the current structure”.
Cllr Harris said: “These are extraordinary statements in a council still recovering from intervention. They should have been challenged at Cabinet, not simply noted.”
Concerns were also raised about the council’s organisational culture and whether improvements claimed in official reports were being experienced by staff.
Cllr Judith Wheeler, Shadow Portfolio Holder for Housing, referred to concerns raised at last month’s Full Council meeting by fellow Liberal Democrat Cllr Marks about what was described as a toxic culture and the loss of experienced staff.
She said the reports presented to Cabinet referred to improvements in the organisation’s culture, but suggested feedback from employees painted a different picture.
“The soundings we have tell a very different story.
“A culture has only really changed when staff say so, not when a report does. Cabinet should be listening to the people who deliver council services every day and asking hard questions on their behalf.”
However, the Liberal Democrats acknowledged that not all the reports considered at the meeting contained negative findings.
Cllr Speed highlighted the council’s Youth Justice report, which showed that 90 per cent of young people supported by the service stayed out of trouble.
She also pointed to figures suggesting Warrington spends £19 per head on young people while achieving better outcomes than other areas spending considerably more.
She said this was the sort of evidence-based reporting the opposition wanted to see across the authority.
“It wasn’t all bad news, and credit should be given where it is due.
“The Youth Justice report showed that 90% of young people stayed out of trouble. The council spends £19 per head on young people and is getting better outcomes than other areas that spend much more.
“That is the kind of honest, evidence-based reporting we want to see across the whole council.”
The criticism comes against the backdrop of continuing financial and organisational pressures at Warrington Borough Council, which has been working to address serious financial challenges and governance concerns following government intervention.
The Liberal Democrats say the latest risk report raises important questions about whether sufficient improvements have been made to ensure potential problems are identified, reported and acted upon before they become major issues.
