Weca placed on alert over 'strained relationships'

The authority unanimously approved an action plan in December to fix the issues

Mistrust among political leaders has led to the West of England Combined Authority (Weca) being placed on alert by the government.

A report by external auditors ordered them to "stop fighting, play nicely and heal their strained relationships".

The authority unanimously approved an action plan in December to fix the issues.

It has now emerged that the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC) has placed Weca on alert.

'Significant weaknesses'

The action plan committed the politicians and senior officers to cooperate better, along with a "peer review challenge" where the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives come in to help with the problems.

It follows a series of name-calling, dysfunctional public meetings with hours-long intervals and one meeting boycotted by three council leaders.

External auditor Grant Thornton's report in November found five "significant weaknesses" in the organisation's value-for-money arrangements and made three statutory recommendations, which are the most serious that can be applied to a public body.

Weca committee chairman Bristol councillor Geoff Gollop said that, despite the "positive work taking place" on the action plan, he remained "concerned" that the leaders were not taking it seriously enough.

He said the latest Weca committee in January included a 100-minute adjournment because the politicians had not cooperated beforehand to agree a key decision.

"I am still not convinced that the leaders know what impression that gives to anybody trying to follow the meeting," Mr Gollop said.

A DLUHC spokesperson said: "We wish to see a robust, wide-ranging review which diagnoses the issues in the authority and, where possible, provide assurance on the action plan and its delivery.

"This will then inform whether any further action is necessary."