Following the two major financial scandals at Lib Dem run Guildford Borough Council we continue to see a mass exodus of senior directors. Two major financial scandals emerged during 2023.
The first in the General Fund with the unnoticed spending of reserves and the misallocation of £10M covid funding which had to be paid back to Government. This led to the LibDem-run council issuing a S114 (bankruptcy) warning. The second was the unnoticed overspend on repairs and maintenance contracts of around £15M. This led to officers being suspended and a criminal fraud investigation. Between the two scandals, the total sums not properly accounted for amount to around £30M.
These scandals led to the commissioning of the SOLACE report published in March 2024 which found that "There is no clear direction of travel and there is a debilitating and serious absence of a range of important strategies, plans and systems." And, "There was a serious lack of budget planning and control right across the authority".
Bankruptcy during 24-25 was avoided by implementing budget savings, the effects on residents still not fully determined, and by agreeing to sell £50M of property assets – assets owned by Guildford residents – which will lead to a loss in future revenue.
All this has a real impact on Guildford residents, from higher Council Tax and parking charges to cutbacks on park maintenance, hanging baskets in the town centre and events like the Christmas lights switch on. We await to see what other "rabbits" are pulled out of the hat to balance the books from 2025 onwards.