Investigator clears officers and members of fraudulent activity at council-owned property business

There was no evidence of any fraudulent activity on the part of officers or members of Northamptonshire County Council in relation to the activities of a property company owned by the local authority, an external investigation has concluded.

In a report Nick Graham, the Director of Law & Governance at Oxfordshire County Council, found that:

  1. There was “certainly no evidence” of any fraudulent activity on the part of officers or members in relation to the activities of NEA Properties, the Northamptonshire Enterprise Partnership (NEP) or Explore Communications Limited.
  2. There are improvements, as identified by an internal audit report, to the governance arrangements and the reporting mechanisms for the accounts.
  3. Appropriate declarations of interest were made by Cllrs’ Parker and Gonzalez de Savage as they related to their involvement with NCC. There was clear evidence that they were also aware of the importance of declaring their interests when involved in the NEP and NEA Properties.
  4. Councillors took extensive and appropriate advice from senior finance and legal officers when undertaking their activities.
  5. He could find no evidence of Declarations of Gifts and Hospitalities in relation to hospitality received by members from Northamptonshire Saints Rugby Club which should have been in place.

A spokesman for Northamptonshire County Council said: “We have received the final report of this investigation, which has exonerated councillors and officers from any fraudulent activity in connection with the operation of NEA Properties.

“The report further concluded that councillors made the required declarations of interest and took extensive and appropriate financial and legal advice in making their decisions.

“We have already taken steps to strengthen governance processes and accept the findings in full.”