Weca leaders 'ordered to stop their infighting'

A Weca meeting about the findings lasted just six minutes and was adjourned when no one would second the paper

A watchdog has ordered a region's political leaders to work together or risk losing vital government money.

Its report also found the boss of the West of England Combined Authority (Weca) was warned a £59,000 severance package to a senior officer was "unlawful".

Auditors Grant Thornton found five "significant weaknesses" in Weca's attempts to secure value for money.

The authority's bosses have accepted the findings.

However, chief executive Patricia Greer insisted they run the "most successful combined authority in the country", having brought in nearly £1bn to the region in the last year.

Weca covers Bath & North East Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire, and is led by metro mayor Dan Norris.

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The 2020/21 VfM (value for money) audit report makes three legally binding "statutory recommendations", which are the most serious that can be applied to a public body.

'Improve working relationship'

They must be reported to government and addressed as an "urgent priority".

• The mayor and members of Weca must commit to improving their working relationship "and demonstrate that significant progress has been made within a reasonable timeframe"

• A formal protocol "should be agreed between member organisations within the combined authority to commit to consultation on key proposals at an earlier stage"

• Weca must review the future management structure to ensure it is "fit for purpose"

Grant Thornton has issued such recommendations to only six of the 180 local authorities whose books it has examined this year, a Weca audit committee meeting was told on 17 November.

Dan Norris has been the metro mayor for Bristol and surrounding areas since May 2021

The auditors also said there was "doubt" that the £59,000 exit payment to the director of infrastructure achieved best value for taxpayers' money.

They said it placed the organisation "at the potential risk of committing to an unlawful payment", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

However, the auditors accepted that the chief executive acted in good faith and that there was conflicting legal opinion over the lawfulness of the severance pay.

'Not dysfunctional'

Auditors concluded that despite such perceptions, Weca "has not become dysfunctional".

The Weca committee, comprising Mr Norris and the three council leaders, were expected to vote on how to respond to each of the auditors' recommendations on 17 November.

But the meeting lasted just six minutes and was adjourned when no one would second the paper.

Weca director of law and governance Stephen Gerrard said: "The mayor and members of the combined authority represented by the council leaders must commit to improving their working relationships.

"This is about saying 'play nicely together'.

"Whether they choose to do that or not is a matter for them."

Afterwards, South Gloucestershire Council leader, councillor Toby Savage called the report "utterly damning".

"The report highlights a number of serious governance failings at Weca and I, along with my local authority colleagues, recognise the need for the Weca mayor and senior officers to be held to account."