Council Concludes Probe Into Fate Of Public Funds

Harborough District Council has been unable to confirm the destination of over £100,000 of public money.

It follows an investigation into Harborough District Leisure Trust, which managed the council’s leisure centres with an external contractor until 2019.

At the time the contract ended and before it was wound-up, the Trust had approximately £105,000 in remaining funds left.

Although the Trust told HDC it had distributed the majority of the money to 22 community groups, no evidence of who benefited has been provided.

HDC’s Community & Services Scrutiny & Overview Panel voted to conclude enquires into the matter

A report into the matter said: “Evidence indicates that the Trust invited applications for grants from relevant, local groups and this was suitably publicised – both online and with paper forms at parish council sites – in 2021.

“This appears to support the entry in the Trust accounts for 2021/22 that £79,300 was paid out in the form of donations that year, albeit the Chief Internal Auditor has no means by which to confirm the accuracy of this reported spend; the recipients of the grants; nor the grant application process.

“A letter was sent to all Trustees requesting further information on the 22 grant recipients. At the time of writing this report no response has been received from any of the letters sent.”

The report said the council had sought to obtain details of the spend from both the trust and its accountants but that no further details had been provided and added: “The auditor concluded, based on the information provided, that it appeared there was no obligation for the trust to provide the information on the spend. This is supported by the legal advice.”

The investigation also found evidence discussions had taken place between the Council and the Trust in 2020 and 2021 to consider how the funds may be distributed, including a suggestion that a formal agreement be entered into to transfer the surplus funds from the Trust to the Council for distribution, but that did not progress.

HDC says it has now exhausted all its powers in seeking clarification on the matter.

Cllr Buddy Anderson chairs the Community & Services Scrutiny & Overview Panel, which voted to conclude the probe: