GBC’s Financial Fiasco Faces Scrutiny – But Will Public Be Allowed In?

Published on: 20 Jan, 2026
Updated on: 21 Jan, 2026

Guildford Borough Council’s financial mismanagement debacle in which millions of pounds of public funds, ring-fenced for the maintenance of the council’s 5,000 council houses, was misspent, is expected to be discussed this evening (January 20) at the council’s Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

But despite the clear public interest, it is expected that the public and press will be excluded from the meeting for that part of the meeting’s agenda.

Cllr Philip Brooker

At the previous O&S Committee meeting the chair, Cllr Philip Brooker (Con, Worplesdon), complained that a report, commissioned to quantify the amount of funds misspent on unnecessary work or on paying invoices for work that had not been carried out, had not been circulated to committee members. Only he had been given a draft copy.

See: Delays to Report on Housing Revenue Account Scandal Criticised by Scrutiny Committee

It is anticipated by some opposition councillors that the committee will decide that, despite two and a half years elapsing since the multi-million overspend being discovered, further work is required to obtain an accurate estimate of the loss. Some have claimed the overspend totalled £19 million.

Earlier reports commissioned by the council detailed weaknesses in GBC’s financial and contract management systems and concluded that “red flags” that should have alerted senior managers to the huge overspend against contracts should have been noticed.

In September 2023 two permanent council officers were suspended and three temporary officers had their contracts cancelled. A subsequent police investigation into possible fraud continues but, although a single arrest was made, no charges have been brought.

Subsequently two senior directors were effectively suspended and eventually resigned. Other officers in the management chain of the relevant area are all said to have left GBC.

Cllr Julia McShane

In May 2024 council leader Julia McShane (Lib Dem, Westborough), who was and remains the Portfolio Holder for Housing, said: ‘The people of Guildford deserve better from their council and for that we give a heartfelt apology and a commitment to put right the long-standing issues which we have uncovered.

“We have invited scrutiny and embraced accountability and will not rest until we have a resilient, well-managed council of which we can all be proud.”

See: Council Leader Apologises Following Publication of Damning Report on GBC

But, 18 months later, some councillors are sceptical that conclusions will be reached before GBC is subsumed into the new West Surrey Unitary Authority, feeling that it is politically advantageous for the Lib Dems for the delay to continue until after forthcoming elections.

Cllr Maddy Redpath

Cllr Maddy Redpath (R4GV, Castle) has criticised the degree of secrecy the council is imposing. She told The Dragon: “This is public money we are talking about that should have been used to carry out necessary repairs to council houses and ensure they complied with necessary regulations.

“It is council tenants who have suffered and are continuing to suffer by living in sub-standard accommodation. It is shameful. They are owed a proper explanation. If there is no proper accountability how can lessons truly be learned? It should be possible for information to be published, with redactions if necessary. This administration has continuously claimed to abide by the principal of openness.

“How can we expect to repair the broken trust of tenants and and leaseholders when GBC can’t be honest and transparent with them?”

It is understood that the council’s reason for secrecy is their wish not to compromise any future legal action they may take against the contractors involved.

Responses to GBC’s Financial Fiasco Faces Scrutiny – But Will Public Be Allowed In?

John Yeomans Reply

January 20, 2026 at 6:50 pm

These are the people that are seeking approval to set up Guildford Parish Council, with an annual budget of between approx £4 and £5 million, funded by GBC residents (according to the figures in their leaflet and noting the number of households in the borough), with an list of undefined services (except to say it involves allotments and representing the community on planning, not one of GBC’s strong areas in the last decade compared to other councils), in advance of a reorganisation of local government in Surrey and the creation of two a unitary authorities.

We may need local delegation of power, but £4million+ for undefined services from a GBC which has overseen, according to the headline, a “financial fiasco”.
Jane Hill Reply

January 24, 2026 at 3:26 pm

The reason they will not speak in public is because there was never millions of pounds misspent.

Yes a contract was over spent but as can be clearly proven the monies were spent on safety and where needed.

The fact that a Director admits in one of the independent reports that he was directed to keep spending due to non-compliance and the fact GBC still had to self report for non-compliance to the safety standards for residents show what happened.

The Council made massive claims in 2023 through so called whistle blowers without actually checking facts and know those claims were false and now don’t know how to back track without losing face.

Editor’s comment: There were overspends against a contract, or contracts, of millions of pounds. No one seems to deny that.

They were “overspends” because it was spending that had not been authorised or approved.

How much of the overspends were spent on properly-priced and completed repairs is questionable, as is the matter of whether any fraud was involved.

Currently, GBC is trying to evaluate how much of the overspend was spent on work that was unnecessary, overpriced or not carried out/completed, with a view to possibly taking a civil action against the contractor.

The criminal investigation by the police into possible fraud continues.