Letter: The People of Guildford Have Been Let Down

Published on: 25 Jan, 2025
Updated on: 26 Jan, 2025

From James Walsh

leader of the Labour group at GBC

In response to: HRA Report Shows Overspend and Possible Fraud Occurred Despite Many Warnings

The people of Guildford have, frankly, been badly let down by poor governance and broken systems over a long period of time – and the Heminsley report has finally lifted the lid on this utter shambles and exposed the rot at the heart of the council.

The massive overspend and possible fraud in the housing department appears to be the result of a perfect storm that includes everything from Conservative-imposed austerity to poor internal checks and balances, shockingly bad IT systems and sheer incompetence.

Together, this toxic potpourri has affected some of our most vulnerable residents and dented trust in the council and the democratic process.

Personally, I am frustrated that none of those who were working at the council during the period in question were available to contribute at the recent extraordinary full council meeting [January 22], though I welcome their input to Heminsley during their research.

I am also irritated by the way that councillors were asked to debate this important report with barely 48 hours notice. I am aware that many councillors who had meetings and work commitments between Monday night and Wednesday evening had very little time to digest the report in full and this “cram it in at the end of a meeting” approach, to me, is part of the wider problem the council needs to resolve.

On a more positive note, we now have everything out in the open and many recommendations from the accompanying SOLACE report to help the authority rebuild.

The Liberal Democrat administration has an immense task to make sure that these recommendations are implemented in full and the council regains trust and confidence. That means that the Executive needs to have proper oversight of the work carried out in its name and hold officers closer to the flame over decision-making than it appears to have done to date.

The Labour Group has been a critical friend throughout this difficult period and has sought to work with others from all parties to help get the council back on track. That was in the best interest of all our residents.

However, now that the investigations are complete and a clear plan of action is in place, we will not hesitate to hold the administration to account for any slippage or failures. The ball is now very much in their court.

Editor’s note: The police investigation into possible criminal misuse of Housing Revenue Account funds is ongoing.