Council planned to buy Wisbech children's home linked to ex-director

The plans to purchase Chartwell House were dropped at an early stage

Council plans to buy a children's home linked to an ex-director's husband had no formal means of managing potential conflicts of interest.

Cambridgeshire County Council had proposed to buy the home in Wisbech which ex-executive director Wendi Ogle-Welbourn's husband had managed.

The council's chief executive said it was strengthening its policies.

Ms Ogle-Welbourn said she and her husband "would not have benefited from the sale".

The proposed council acquisition of Chartwell House, which was previously run by the Chartwell Group, was dropped in March 2022 in the early stages.

"Several issues pertaining to planning permissions, title deed and Ofsted registration status" were discovered, said the council.

An internal audit review from October, obtained by the BBC through the Freedom of Information Act, said Rick Ogle-Welbourn "appears to have held the role of the social care director of the Chartwell Group and the home manager for Chartwell House School for 25 years".

Mr Ogle-Welbourn said he had "no response to the council looking at the property as it had nothing to do with me as an employee".

His time at the group pre-dated the tenure of Ms Ogle-Welbourn, who was council executive director of people and communities between 2017 and early 2022.

Wendi Ogle-Welbourn left Cambridgeshire County Council in early 2022

The initial council contract with the Chartwell Group was about 10 years before she was in post.

Internal auditors found: "The former executive director's husband appears likely to have been an employee rather than an owner or director of Chartwell House; however, internal audit has not been able to confirm this, as the Chartwell Group does not appear to have been a registered company or charity and the legal status of the group is unclear."

The Chartwell Group has not responded to the BBC's request for comment, including about its legal status.

The audit report said the council was notified by the Chartwell Group in September 2021 of the intention to close Chartwell House and a feasibility project was initiated.

It stated that "a project plan and business case for the acquisition were in draft, although these were not provided to audit for review on request".

"Officers contacted by internal audit could not confirm where the idea for this project had originated," the report stated, adding: "The project appears to have remained at an early stage."

The report said Mr Ogle-Welbourn was involved with the group in 2022 "in a consultant/representative capacity, as part of the negotiations with the council for the proposed acquisition of property from the group".

"The extent to which the individual may have financially benefited from the council acquiring Chartwell House, had this gone ahead, is not known."

It went on to later state: "There is no evidence of any formal arrangements in place for managing the risk of conflict-of-interest with the proposed acquisition of Chartwell House, and it is not clear whether this risk was identified by the project prior to the involvement of property services."

Mr Ogle-Welbourn, in response to the BBC, said: "These discussions were led by Cambridgeshire County Council, not the Chartwell Group.

"This was when [council] members were looking to bring all services back to the county."

He said he was not a company director, and worked as the director for social care and practice, adding he "had never benefited from any sale of the Chartwell Group's resources or properties".

Lucy Nethsingha said she had no recollection of the purchase being discussed publicly

Council leader, Liberal Democrat Lucy Nethsingha, said: "I was very surprised to learn of the close relationship between Wendi Ogle-Welbourn and the Chartwell group, and the possibility of the council having purchased the property in Wisbech, as I have no recollection of this ever being mentioned in any public meeting.

"It is my view that it is important that relationships such as this ought to be known to members, so that all decision-making can be done on the basis of full disclosure."

Ms Ogle-Welbourn said she "made no secret" that her husband worked for the Chartwell Group, adding "officers knew that any discussions or communications with the Chartwell Group could not involve me" and "anything to do with them went through the service director of social care".

Asked if she knew where the idea to buy Chartwell House came from, she said: "Consideration of a property such as Chartwell House would have been via the commissioning team and probably someone in property."

Mr Ogle-Welbourn also said he worked for the council for "several years" prior to joining the Chartwell Group and "knew social workers, senior managers and members, all who were aware I was married and were aware of the possibility of a conflict of interest - hence the transparency".

Council chief executive, Stephen Moir, said: "Even before this issue was identified, and unconnected to it, this authority had determined that there was a need to further enhance our policy and processes around managing conflicts of interest for both councillors and council officers, as part of a declarations of interest audit, in January 2022."

He said many of the audit recommendations had been implemented, including updating and publishing guidance for council employees.

"We will ensure that our governance and controls in these areas evolve further and will continue to ensure that the public funds in our stewardship are spent appropriately," he added.