An external audit report has confirmed that there were “significant weaknesses” in the financial sustainability of budgets set by the previous Green administration.
This report validates exactly what we said when we took office – namely that the last Green administration did not manage our finances well and left the council in a financially unsustainable position.
The findings were revealed in a report produced by Brighton and Hove City Council’s external auditors, Grant Thornton.
The report has been published ahead of the council’s Audit and Standards Committee meeting which is due to be held this afternoon (Tuesday 26 September).
The audit report states: “The council finished 2022-23 with an overspend on the General Fund revenue budget of £3 million. This was the first time in over a decade that it had produced an overspend.”
The report goes on to say that “the council’s financial position has significantly worsened since our 2021-22 report” – that is, during the period when the Green Party was in office.
When we highlighted the fact that the previous Green administration had overspent, a number of current and former Green councillors tried to claim that this wasn’t significant or unique.
The audit report makes it crystal clear that the opposite is true. It makes a formal “Red” finding, shows “significant weaknesses” in relation to financial sustainability and makes two formal recommendations for improvement.
I said when we took office that we’d inherited a “budget built on sand” – and this audit report demonstrates how it happened.
Shockingly, a similar finding was made last year and the auditors make clear that this was not addressed by the Green administration.
The Green Party claims to be progressive but that’s no good to anybody if they can’t manage the council properly when they get into power.
I saw in a recent statement from Green councillor Chloe Goldsmith that she doesn’t think the council needs a chief executive. This probably tells you all you need to know about their approach to running the council.
Perhaps they think the chief executive position could be replaced with tarot card readings to make decisions? While we’re at it, maybe we could do away with the chief financial officer and have an interpretive dance troupe run our budgets?
The Greens must take some responsibility at some point. Do they disagree with the audit report findings? Do they dispute the fact that they were the first administration to overspend in more than a decade? Anyone standing for the Greens in the city should be asked about this.
The report is also clear about the significant reductions in central government funding over the past 10 years and the pressures that these continue to place on local authorities.
It leaves no grounds for any crowing from local Tories. Their catastrophic Tory government has continually underfunded local councils and still lacks any grip on the deep cost of living crisis across the country.
Councillor Jacob Taylor is the deputy leader Brighton and Hove City Council and the finance lead.
The only differences between Brighton’s Labour Council and Birmingham’s Labour Council are timing and (still) having someone else to blame for the financial mismanagement.
Birmingham are £87million in debt, forecast to rise to £165m next year. So … quite a difference, really.
Labour really are hoisting themselves by their own petard here, as if it hadn’t been for them expelling three councillors amid allegations of anti-Semitism in 2020, the Greens would not have been running the council in the first place. They then did so as a minority, and could only get a budget through with Labour support.
Labour inherited a badly run council. The last administration didn’t have a clue.
Exactly
It will be the same when labour win the next GE.
Everyone will forget the 14 years of Tory misrule that destroyed our economy and blame everything on Labour again.
The last budget (and indeed every budget by the last council) was negotiated with Labour, line by line. Every detail was then voted for by all Labour Cllrs.
For Labour to be pretending it was nothing to do with them is a joke. And shoddy journalism by BH News to not point that out
Tell that to Woking and all the other Conservative run councils also complaining!
Conservatives have wrecked this country!!!
I think Woking is Liberal Democrat: 20 lib 4 con 3 ind 3 lab
I agree with Max, the financial black hole was a surprise to all the councillors across the parties and independents, both new and existing.
At a time when the Green Party could have gained many Parliamentary seats , 1988 0r 9 , they had their Party Conference . Spending most of the time debating how to run a political party without a leader , rather than issues to be dealt with.
There was a widespread disillusionment of the major parties, many hoped The Greens might have been a viable change , so they had a conference navel gazing !
I have come to regard the Greens as a Coffee Table party , attractive but with little meaningful content.
If ‘Labour’ stopped pursuing privatisation, there might be more money!
It would be good to know how the budget (which was balanced) turned into a £3m overspend – at what point did Councillors decide to presumably ignore the advice of officers and carry on spending?
Or did the overspend appear in the last month of the year?