A PLAN to prevent a repeat of the long-term mismanagement of millions of pounds by Waltham Forest Council does not go far enough, opposition councillors and a union secretary have claimed.
Cabinet members tonight agreed measures to reform procedures in the wake of a damning report which found a systemic failure in the way the authority handles its finances.
Human resource procedures will be reviewed, procurement training offered and roles of leading councillors and senior officers restated. There will also be measures to improve transparency, scrutiny and public participation.
But at the town hall tonight David Knight, secretary of the Waltham Forest branch of Unison, said union members were “disappointed” with the direction the plan is going.
Mr Knight said the council continues to place senior managers in positions of conflict of interest.
He cited the example of Martin Esom, the authority's deputy chief executive, who has recently been appointed interim chief executive of the council's property manager Ascham Homes.
Mr Knight said: “This puts that individual in a position of potential vulnerability.”
He said the council's plan focuses too heavily on HR and auditing and called for councillors to accept more responsibility for decisions, he also said there are too many interim managers working for the authority.
He said: “We want to see permanent recruitment to senior positions – we want to see people who are committed to Waltham Forest employed by Waltham Forest”
Cllr Matt Davis, Conservative group leader, welcomed the bulk of the plan, but said it addresses the “hows” but not the “whys”.
He said: “This is only going to address half the reasons why this occurred, there is still only half the story here, I am afraid.”
He also said the system by which backbenchers scrutinise cabinet decisions has to be made more robust as it is currently treated as a “box ticking exercise or with contempt by a large amount of those people who are supposed to provide reports of things to scrutinise.”
Cabinet members rejected Cllr Davis' request for a future inquiry into the fiasco.
Council leader Chris Robbins said: “We don't say this is the finished product it is just the beginning of a process.”
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