AN utterly damning report on Thurrock Council's financial catastrophe has been released by the government this morning (Thursday, 15 June).

In great depth it catalogues this history and causes of the financial meltdown that has effectively brought the council to bankruptcy.

It details the misconduct of senior officers and failings of senior councillors and goes into detail about a total lack of management control.

And describes the secrecy and contempt for the truth from both officers and councillors who colluded to keep the ever-spiralling debt and consecutive project failures from public view.

The report clearly vindicates the reports and comment of Thurrock Nub News over many years and the work of other investigative journalists, particularly the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, without whose efforts the scandal may yet remain hidden.

The string of bad investments was made possible by a "dereliction in political and managerial leadership" and "serious weaknesses in internal control", the report said. This, the commissioners said, was compounded by a lack of openness and transparency which led to a "culture of insularity and complacency".

The Department of Levelling up Housing and Communities stepped in in September last year. The Government has since given Thurrock £452m to fill its funding gap for 2022-23

Commissioners said the result of years of financial mismanagement will inevitably lead to a "significant and rapid cut in services. They said: "The council will require significant external support, as well as large increases in council tax and the delivery of an extensive savings programme, for years to come.

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Their report adds: "The full scale of the financial losses incurred is not yet known. Nevertheless, it is clear that if the council is to be placed on a sustainable footing – and it is not yet certain whether this will be possible – it will need to operate very differently in the future."

The Best Value Inspection traced the first investments back to May 2016 when the council made an investment of £24million in Swindon Solar Farm operated by Rockfire/Toucan.

A further £10million was invested in Swindon and Willersley Solar in August 2016

In 2017-18 then finance director Sean Clark was given carte blanche to increase unspecified investments from £200m to £550m. The cash limit for any one external fund manager then rose from £75million up to £425million in what Tony McArdle, author of the report, said was an "extraordinary expansion in the delegated authority of officers".

By 2020 investments were approaching £1billion and could have reached £2billion under the watch of then chief executive Lyn Carpenter and former Conservative leader Rob Gledhill who have both since resigned.

The report said: "The internal checks and balances that one would expect to see, which would have provided challenge and possibly prevented this situation from arising were either weak or wholly absent."

The inquiry made eight recommendations to the Secretary of State, including that the council should move to all-out elections in May 2025 instead of the current one third elections.

As well as the financial meltdown, the report goes into deal about calamitous projects including the A13 widening, Stanford Rail station, the civic office extension and the Belmont Road housing project.

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There is damning evidence of failure of management by the council across them all.

Thurrock Nub News is still dissecting the full detail of the report and will be delivering a number of detailed stories, with reaction in the wake of its publication, but the whole damning report can be read via this link.