Beleaguered Gloucester City Council to bolster finance team after ‘chaotic’ time

The authority had to be bailed out by the Government to avert effective bankruptcy

Gloucester City Council is bolstering its finance team to put the authority on an even keel and prevent another financial disaster.

Civic chiefs have approved plans which will see the team have a total of 17 members of staff within a new management structure.

The council has averted becoming effectively bankrupt after overspends of millions of pounds came to light last year, with the Government granting the authority a £15.5m emergency bailout loan in February.

As part of their recovery efforts, £250,000 has been set aside in the budget to provide the anticipated expansions to the finance and asset management team.

During the overview and scrutiny committee meeting on Monday (March 30), chairman Andrew Gravells (C, Abbeydale) said the report described the previous finance team as “dysfunctional”, “abrasive” and noted they “weren’t talking to each other”.

Council leader Jeremy Hilton (LD, Kingsholm and Wotton) explained that the cabinet requested a report into the capacity, capability and resilience of the finance team after the “first of the financial headaches” emerged in September.

“We were concerned that this was one of the problems,” he said.

“We had a new section 151 officer take up office in April and we could see that there were problems there.

“We just thought the most effective thing to do would be to have an independent review of the finance team.”

At the start of the meeting Cllr Gravells (C, Abbeydale) praised Alison Turner, whose arrival at the council as head of finance and resources was commended and described as “a breath of fresh air”.

Ms Turner said she might be the only one singled out in the report but it has been a “real team effort”.

“The finance team has worked really well together,” she said.

“[There has been] a huge amount of challenge and we’ve still got a lot of challenges but we’ve made significant improvements in the last six months.

“And we’ve got a real plan to continue with that.”

She added that she is “only as good as the team I’ve got around me”.

Labour councillor Terry Pullen (Moreland) referenced the report, which said the finance team “is a collection of unsettled individuals rather than a team” and that “there is quite a difference in culture in many parts of the team which is a bit worrying”.

He said the improvements suggest everyone be in the office one day a week, questioning: “Is one day enough to bring everyone together?”

He also asked what impact the changes would have on staff who have “got used to working from home culture”.

Ms Turner said the financial services culture was not just about coming about into the office but about the way they work.

“A lot of the issues are to do with the current structure,” she said.

“It is not very defined. The roles are quite confusing with how people fit in and who people report to.”

She said it was a package of changes which will improve the way they work.

Liberal Democrat councillor Anne Radley (Elmbridge) said the report suggested “things have been fairly chaotic”.

“It seems the finance team has done its very, very best to get done what it needs to do with the resources that are available to it,” she said.

“How confident are you that these structures will give you enough to actually move to a point of stability?”

Ms Turner said she currently does not have the resources to do everything they need to do. But she is confident once the structure is filled, they will have the resources they need at the right level.

“We will have the capacity and capability to deliver what we need to deliver,” she said.

“The big challenge is getting that structure filled.”