Ex-Caerphilly council leader probed over shares declaration

David Poole had been Labour leader of Caerphilly council since May 2017

A former council leader is being investigated over whether he properly declared his interest in a firm which received millions in public funds.

Caerphilly councillor David Poole registered in June that he held shares in high-tech manufacturer IQE.

The Cardiff Capital Region City Deal, in whose cabinet he sat as Caerphilly's leader, invested £38.5m in IQE in 2017.

Mr Poole has reportedly said he bought the shares in late 2018 and was advised he did not need to declare it.

Caerphilly council announced on Friday that he had stepped down as leader "to allow appropriate enquiries to take place" after referring himself to the public services ombudsman for Wales.

Mr Poole's register of interest form on the Caerphilly council website was submitted in June 2019 and said he was a "shareholder of IQE".

Robotics

The Cardiff Capital Region City Deal (CCRCD) is a programme agreed by 10 local authorities and the UK and Welsh governments to promote economic growth in south east Wales.

It invested the money in IQE in 2017 to support the development of companies working on technology behind next-generation robotics and 5G.

It is not known when Mr Poole acquired the shares in IQE or exactly when he first declared them, but he has reportedly said he only acquired them in October or November of 2018 and was advised by a council officer that he did not need to declare it.

BBC Wales has reviewed all the available minutes of CCRCD meetings since it was set up and has found that Mr Poole declared an interest on one occasion in June 2019 for an item that mentioned IQE.

A reference to IQE on David Poole's register of interests appears to have been crossed out

His register of interests on the Caerphilly council website was submitted in June, but then appears to have been edited on 9 September 2019 when "shareholder of IQE" was crossed out, suggesting he sold the shares.

BBC Wales has tried to contact Mr Poole for comment.

A spokesperson for Caerphilly council said: "We are unable to comment on the details of this matter as it is subject to ongoing investigations, but we can confirm that it relates to alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct for Elected Members, which have been identified by the Wales Audit Office."

Issue identified

The investigation was prompted by the Wales Audit Office (WAO) which presented its annual statement of accounts for the Cardiff Capital Region earlier this month.

A section of that report said: "Our audit work has confirmed that the Related Party disclosures contained within Note 9 of the financial statements is appropriate.

"However, our work has identified an issue in respect of the Registration of Members' Interests within one authority and the processes and procedures in place to notify CCRCD's Director and Monitoring Officer of those interests.

"Consequently, we intend to write to CCRCD's Director, and the local authority concerned, in relation to this matter in the near future."

A spokesperson for the Cardiff Capital Region confirmed the issue highlighted by the WAO concerned Caerphilly council.

He added: "The CCR City Deal Office has now received correspondence from WAO setting out further advice and guidance as relevant on the matter.

"The letter makes it clear that up until the time the alleged issue was identified, neither the Regional Cabinet, City Deal Office nor the Accountable Body's Monitoring Officer had been made aware of it."