Council says sorry

Cheltenham Borough Council has issued a public apology after a report slammed it's decision to take its former managing director to court.

Last week, at a meeting of full council, members passed a resolution to apologise to the people of Cheltenham for governance failings which were highlighted by the report, issued by the council’s auditors, KPMG.

The written apology is signed by council leader Cllr Steve Jordan, leader of the conservative group Cllr Stuart Hutton, leader of the people against bureaucracy group Cllr Les Godwin and chief executive Andrew North.  It is available on the council website and from the Municipal Offices.

The letter states that ‘having reflected upon and considered the detail of the Public Interest Report and its recommendations, we regretfully acknowledge that the application of the council’s systems and processes fell short of the standards which the public are entitled to expect of their local authority.’

In addition to the Public Interest Report, the council also received a report from an all party working group which looked at wider issues relating to recruitment, appointment and dispute resolution.

Andrew North, chief executive at the council says:

‘’We have accepted all 26 recommendations made by KPMG and we will make sure that our decisions are based on sound governance.  We now wish to move on and devote our resources and energy to building positive relationships and delivering services for the people of the borough.’’