Lib Dems fail to oust Tories over Gloucester City Council accounts
An attempt to kick out the Conservative administration from Gloucester City Council over accounting delays failed tonight.
Instead of joining forces with the Liberal Democrats, Labour accused fellow opposition councillors of electioneering for forthcoming county council elections by calling for the Tory cabinet to stand down.
-
Paul James
It meant the Lib Dem motion of no confidence in the Tory cabinet was defeated, though a watered down version which didn't call for resignations was voted through - it acknowledged the council's 2011/12 accounts have still not been signed off, seven months later than expected.
Members at tonight's full council meeting were told by leader Paul James that two accounting technicalities meant they had not been signed off yet.
Business Cards From Only £10.95 Delivered www.myprint-247.co.uk
View detailsOur heavyweight cards have FREE UV silk coating, FREE next day delivery & VAT included. Choose from 1000's of pre-designed templates or upload your own artwork. Orders dispatched within 24hrs.
Terms: Visit our site for more products: Business Cards, Compliment Slips, Letterheads, Leaflets, Postcards, Posters & much more. All items are free next day delivery. www.myprint-247.co.uk
Contact: 01858 468192
Valid until: Friday, May 31 2013
He denied Lib Dem leader Jeremy Hilton's earlier claim the council faced a "financial tsunami" and he expected the accounts to be signed off within the next week or so.Mr Hilton denied he was electioneering and said he was concerned the council may not be able to map out spending and cuts for next year if the aaccounts had not been signed off.
For a full report of the meeting, see Saturday's Citizen and www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk
8 Comments
by Shireresident
Saturday, January 26 2013, 12:31PM
“Part of the problem has been that local authority cuts have hit internal audit staff very hard. as I understand it councils now share a much depleted core of staff. No wonder things take longer to sort out. There comes a point when cuts to the less emotive council services like accountancy and audit have an unwonted effect on the efficiency of a councils functions. But it's not fashionable to say that these days, especially in the Tory press.”
by L804XDG
Saturday, January 26 2013, 4:56AM
“con men the lot of them, time we had a general election”
by FreeRadical1
Friday, January 25 2013, 4:34PM
“Some of the technicalities are acknowledged to date back to at least 2003, but have only just been noticed. Financial muddles can be difficult to sort out, so it's ridiculous of Jeremy Hilton to try to gain political capital out of the situation.”
by TimMessanger
Friday, January 25 2013, 12:00PM
“It would be nice to just sign off the accounts, there can be a lot of reasons why they have not yet been signed off. As some people may be aware if they did not have their head stuck up their nether regions the council has been undergoing a process of trimming down it's employees and restructuring to reduce costs, this tends to cause delays in the preparation of final accounts.”
by QuedgeleyGuy
Friday, January 25 2013, 10:11AM
“Sack the Accountant ! Simples......”
by Ysedra
Friday, January 25 2013, 10:10AM
“Are we ever going to be told what kind of 'technicalities' delay an audit for seven months?”
by Morrigan
Friday, January 25 2013, 12:21AM
“Always a good move, by anyone, to have little faith in the Liberal Democrats.”
by Shireresident
Thursday, January 24 2013, 11:32PM
“Good move by the Labour group to say plague on the Fibdems. If the Tories had been ousted there would have to be either a coalition or a minority administration. Better let the Tories carry the can and let the public have their say in May. Grandstanding to no purpose has become one of Mr. Hiltons signature moves sooner or later the tactic will wear a little thin.”