Cambridgeshire mayoral authority has levelling up funding suspended

The role of mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough was created in 2017

An authority which was found to have "significant weaknesses" in governance arrangements has had its government funding of more than £1.3m suspended.

An external auditor had raised concerns about Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) and its ability to carry out its duties.

CPCA had asked for financial help in making improvements, and was due to be granted two sets of funding.

The Department for Levelling Up said it was "taking a precautionary approach".

In a letter to CPCA, which has been seen by the BBC, it said it would be doing so "until we have assurance that there are appropriate plans in place to reach a resolution."

The CPCA was due to receive £1m in Mayoral Capacity Funding and £375,000 in Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Core Funding, which the department said it would be "pausing".

A briefing to the authority's board on Friday, also seen by the BBC, said it had to "urgently" look at measures needed to be taken in the event that funding continued to be suspended.

Earlier this month, auditors expressed concerns including an increase in "employment-related claims" and the number of senior management vacancies.

It said without "appropriate leadership capacity... there is significant doubt" the authority could carry out its duties.

Mayoral investigation

The authority has an elected mayor, Labour's Nik Johnson, who has devolved powers to spend money on local housing, infrastructure and jobs.

He is facing a separate investigation following a whistleblowing report.

Following the auditor's report he said he had no intention of resigning.

He has been approached for comment regarding the suspension of funding.

A note to the CPCA board said discussions with the Department for Levelling Up were "critical" to understand what it must do to ensure funding was secured.

"Whilst the combined authority receives the majority of its core revenue funding from Department for Levelling Up, there is now the concern that funding streams from other departments may also be at risk," it added.

"This would significantly impact services, projects and programmes across the organisation, including adult education and transport capital schemes."

However, a combined authority spokesperson told the BBC: "This pause does not impact on the combined authority's financial stability in this financial year, and committed funding for projects and existing agreed delivery programmes are unaffected."

It said the £1.375m represented 1% of total expected "in-year" funding and it was already in positive discussions with the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities (DLUHC).

In a statement to the BBC, the DLUHC said: "We are aware of concerns around the CPCA.

"Having been approached by the authority for discussions, we are working to support them on their governance arrangements."