Dudley councillors stunned after damning report pulled from agenda
Dudley councillors were left stunned after being told a damning report they were due to debate had been withdrawn.
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Members of the Audit and Standards Committee met on February 17, ready to give their views on an interim report about Dudley Council's Audit and Risk Management Service.
The report, which highlighted a lack of resources and missed targets, had been published with the meeting’s agenda in advance of the meeting.
As the debate was set to begin, the council’s top finance officer told councillors the report had been withdrawn.
Brendan Arnold, Dudley’s interim director for finance, said: “It has been withdrawn because I am not satisfied with the wording in the way the report is written or the information it contains.”
The unexpected announcement left committee members unhappy, Councillor Shaukat Ali said: “These papers have been published in line with agenda publication times and deadlines, why at this late stage is it being withdrawn?”
Mr Arnold said he was not prepared to discuss the subject matter of the report or take any questions.
Councillor Jackie Cowell said, “I have been on this scrutiny committee since 2011, and this is the first time I have encountered that. I do find it less than optimal.”
Councillor Ali added: “The issue is around governance, we keep talking about it, it is totally unacceptable for it to be withdrawn at such a late stage.”
Dudley’s interim chief executive, Balvinder Heran, reassured the committee the report would be re-presented, she said: “It’s only a deferral so it can be a more rounded report, rather than list the issues it will come back with recommendations.”
Independent committee member Tony Beirne, who is not a councillor but an expert in local government audit, said: “I don’t know what’s going on, the head of audit is independent, to have a head of audit’s report pulled is not satisfactory.”
After the meeting, committee chairman, Councillor Karl Denning, said: “We have all read the report. I wasn’t particularly happy about it but at the end of the day it was his report and legally he can pull it.
“Is that the right thing to do in front of the committee? – probably not.”
