City councillors expenses verdict imminent
A decision should be made in the coming weeks
A senior councillor has set out the extent of an investigation into expense claims for childcare made by councillors during the coronavirus pandemic.
The former Labour leader of the council Daniel Yates said that internal auditors were carrying out the investigation which should be completed within the next few weeks.
Councillor Yates said that the investigation would seek confirmation whether claims were made in line with council policy.
The investigation was announced just under two weeks ago by Green councillor Phélim Mac Cafferty, the current leader of Brighton and Hove City Council.
He made the announcement at a meeting of the full council after public questions about claims made by the former mayor of Brighton and Hove, Green councillor Alex Phillips.
She and her husband, fellow Green councillor Tom Druitt, have been criticised for spending some of the coronavirus lockdowns in France.
Like all other councillors, the couple, who have two young children, attended meetings virtually during the pandemic.
Today (Tuesday 19 April) Councillor Yates made a statement at the start of a meeting at Hove Town Hall.
He told the council’s Audit and Standards Committee: “As members may recall, we had a member question presented at the last meeting of the committee in January raising issues about reports in the media regarding councillors’ expenses.
“I did receive confirmation from officers that the matter was dealt with and processed in accordance with council procedures.
“Subsequent to the meeting I received further communication from a member of the public with detailed assertions purporting to suggest that there were some discrepancies between the expenses claimed and what happened in practice.
“Although I was not in a position to form a view on the allegation, I felt it was important that the issues were looked at properly and objectively, and this was communicated to officers.
“As a result, the Internal Audit Service was asked to undertake the investigation. Its terms of reference include undertaking the investigation to seek confirmation whether
claims were made in line with council policy
claims were supported by appropriate evidence where necessary
claims were made for an appropriate duration in respect of approved duties
“The work has already started and we hope that it will be concluded in the next couple of weeks.
“Depending on the conclusions, we may be able to share them with members at the next meeting of the committee or earlier.
“But we obviously need to make sure that any communication needs to respect the law on protection of personal data and also does not compromise any further steps that the council may take.
“I can confirm that the council received some late public engagement items and a member letter (about this matter) but, given that the investigation is already under way, it would not have served any purpose and may actually have compromised the process.
“As I said, we will share the findings of the investigation with members as soon as reasonably practicable and subject to the safeguards I mentioned.”
Councillor Phillips, who is a member of the Audit and Standards Committee, attended the meeting today but didn’t comment while the investigation is under way.