Independent report on Lyme Green fiasco completed

Cheshire East Council has received the formal report of the Designated Independent Person (DIP) it appointed to review allegations about the actions of three senior staff of the Council, in connection with the development of the Lyme Green site in Macclesfield.

A review of the Council's proposal to build a recycling station at Lyme Green Depot in Macclesfield, published on June 7th, revealed that planning rules were broken, as the main contractor commenced work on the site three weeks before a planning application was submitted, officers did not comply with EU Procurement Regulations or ensure there was effective reporting to members of the council.

They also spent beyond the approved budget on the scheme breaking Finance and Contract Procedure Rules. The approved capital budget for the scheme was £650,000 but the total anticipated cost for the aborted Lyme Green scheme is over £800,000.

The confidential report of the DIP will be passed to the Council's Staffing Sub Committee for consideration of what actions are appropriate in the light of its findings and recommendations. The Sub Committee, which has delegated authority to act in this matter, will meet before Christmas.

Mr Malcolm Iley, the DIP, has produced a short summary of his activities (see below) but, under the agreed procedures, will make no formal statements on the matter.

The report forms part of the Council's disciplinary process for senior staff. It must remain confidential to avoid prejudicing any actions that might now be taken by the Council. A fuller statement will be made by the Council shortly when the actions to be taken are clear, and later when this process has been completed in the New Year.

Councillor Leader Councillor Michael Jones said "We are pleased to receive this eagerly awaited report so quickly. It is not unusual for such independent reviews to take more than 12 months, but we have reduced this timescale significantly and so kept the costs involved lower.

"I have always believed that the understandable concerns of the public, and of local councillors, about how this site development was handled must be recognised and dealt with quickly.

"On a personal note, I have been looking forward to this report, and, early in the New Year, the Chief Executive and I will bring forward our observations on its findings, including the need for a less opaque framework of management accountabilities and for bold service changes to replace poor internal structures and ways of working.

"We have already put in place a comprehensive Action Plan to improve our systems, procedures and staff training for project management and for contracting externally provided services for developments like Lyme Green. This will greatly reduce the risk of such a situation being repeated in future.

"It is important that the Sub Committee now be allowed to complete its important work in dealing with these serious allegations. As with all staff disciplinary matters, the Council cannot risk prejudicing the proper procedure by commenting further at this time.

"I would, however, expect the Staffing Sub Committee to take swift and robust action in response to the DIP's recommendations, as I intend to do in improving the Council's management structures".

Summary of matters relating to an investigation by Mr Malcolm Iley, Designated Independent Person (DIP), concerning proposals to build a proposed waste transfer station at Lyme Green, Macclesfield, Cheshire and related contract issues

• In February 2012, Cheshire East Council undertook an internal review of the Council's proposal to build a waste transfer station at the Lyme Green Depot, Macclesfield, Cheshire, commissioned through its Chief Executive and Leader, following a report to its Audit and Governance Committee.
• That report found that, although in the main appropriate Council procedures and provisions for compliance with its own Officer Delegations, Standing Orders and EU Procurement Rules were in place to prevent financial and legal irregularities, in the case of Lyme Green there was evidence that certain officers may have failed to comply with many of the Council's governance arrangements and decision making processes.
• More recently, the Council considered, through a report to its Audit and Governance Committee on 14 June 2012, certain findings and a plan of corrective actions and recommendations as to the way forward and is in the process of implementing those recommended improvements, with progress being reported regularly to that Committee.
• Under the appropriate procedures for dealing with allegations involving senior staff, the Council's Staffing Sub Committee, on 24 July 2012, resolved to appoint a Designated Independent Person (DIP), Mr Malcolm Iley. They referred certain allegations to the DIP for investigation and issued terms of reference for that investigation.
• The role of the DIP is to report to the Council as to whether, and if so the extent to which, the evidence supports any allegation of misconduct against the officers concerned and to recommend any disciplinary action which the DIP thinks it will be appropriate for the Council to take.
• In this case, Mr Iley as the DIP has interviewed 28 witnesses who have given evidence, and has considered a wide range of documents and other written submissions, as well as the Council's internal reports.
• Mr Iley as the DIP is now required to submit his report to the Council, which he has now done, with recommendations as to the actions which the Council should consider, and the Council, through its Staffing Sub Committee, will now take time to consider those recommendations and decide whether they wish to implement them in whole or in part. The Sub Committee may make recommendations to the full Council and, no doubt, will also take account of the other observations and comments which the DIP has made in respect of the processes and actions which took place in connection with the Lyme Green project and related contracts.
• As the report relates to possible disciplinary proceedings, it must remain confidential so as not to prejudice those proceedings or any other action which the Council decides to take.
• On the submission of the DIP report, the DIP's functions come to an end and the matter is now to be dealt with using the established internal processes of the Council.
• Any further queries in relation to the DIP report should be addressed to Mr Kim Ryley, Interim Chief Executive, Cheshire East Council, Westfields, Middlewich Road, Sandbach CW11 1HZ.

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Cheshire East Council, Lyme Green