GLD Vacancies

County council launches review into links with fraud-hit charity

A county council has appointed an expert in governance to conduct an independent review into a fraud-hit local charity.

The move by Gloucestershire County Council follows the jailing of the chief executive of Cotswold Water Park Society Limited (CWPSL), Dennis Grant, for four and a half years. Grant had pleaded guilty to six charges of defrauding CWPSL of £660,000.

The local authority leased the land to the charity for a peppercorn rent, but is not responsible for any of its dealings.

Gloucestershire has appointed Graham Garbutt, former chief executive and accounting officer for the Countryside Agency and the Commission for Rural England, to conduct the review.

This will include:

  • A full chronology of how CWPSL was developed, starting from its establishment in 1996
  • An analysis of CWPSL structures and governance arrangements
  • A review of its finances and the council's ongoing financial relationship with CWPSL
  • The manner in which the county council responded to and cooperated with previous reviews and inquiries conducted by the police, the Audit Commission, the Local Government Ombudsman and Freedom of Information requests
  • Lessons to be learnt with regards to the ongoing relationship between the council and Cotswold Water Park

Garbutt, who is expected to publish his report in early 2012, said: "There's no doubt this is a sensitive issue and people really want to know how this fraud could have occurred and what lessons can be learnt.

"I'd like to reassure them that I intend to scrutinise every aspect of this business so we have a clear picture of exactly what happened and make recommendations if practices and procedures need to be improved."

Cllr Mark Hawthorne, Gloucestershire’s Leader, said: "While the council doesn't have any obligation to carry out a review, we were keen to get everything out in the open, once and for all.

"The review will be independent from the council and I'm confident it will answer the questions being asked and allow the Cotswold Water Park Society to move forward without this hanging over them."