South Ribble Borough Council staff 'consistently breached' rules

Ms McManus was suspended in May 2019 shortly after a minority Labour administration took over

A council's rules and procedures were "consistently breached" at all levels by staff, a report has found.

An internal audit of South Ribble Borough Council (SRBC) found a culture "rising from the top" that disregarded "checks and balances" that were meant to protect the authority.

Council leader Paul Foster said the report's findings were "appalling".

Chief executive Heather McManus, who was put on "special leave" in May 2019, has now resigned from her role.

The reasons for her departure were initially unclear, but the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said two legal claims had been lodged - one under so-called "whistleblowing" legislation, the other alleging constructive dismissal.

SRBC confirmed that it was aware of the proceedings and would be defending the claims.

Ms McManus told the LDRS that she had "not been in the office for over 14 months and, with regards to the audit report, it would not be appropriate to make comments about senior officers".

The LDRS said the report - ordered after concerns were raised over 2019's annual governance statement - was presented to a meeting of the authority's governance committee on Tuesday.

'Risk of fraud'

It identified issues with a number of areas, including the governance of a project to create a new leisure campus in Leyland, which had seen its £15m costs increase by almost £10m without the new figure being brought to cabinet for formal consideration.

The auditors could not find a "detailed evaluation" of a bidding process for a design team within the project, which saw the contract awarded to a bidder whose services were twice the price of the only other company in contention.

The report also found the council was exposed to the "potential risk of fraud and error" due to an invoice system which allowed staff to make payments significantly above the value of orders placed.

The auditors also revealed two new senior posts and salaries were created without "proper approval" and no explanation was given why each post only had a shortlist of one.

Ms McManus was put on special leave in May 2019 within weeks of a minority Labour administration taking over from the Conservative group which had governed the borough for 12 years.

The authority's two deputy chief executives, Tim Povall and Gregg Stott, were also put on special leave and left just over a month later.

Mr Foster said the report documented "historic stuff that we have inherited and it's appalling".

"We have said that we will clean the place up and we will do - I will not stop until I have dealt with this appropriately.

"The important thing is that we rectify things for residents and continue to provide them with the first-class service that they deserve."

Ms McManus, who will leave the council at the end of her notice period in August, said she was unable to comment on the issues raised in the audit reports at this stage.