Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council’s governance and oversight arrangements in respect of its own waste company, Silent Valley Waste Services Limited were inadequate and ineffective, according to a report issued today by the Auditor General for Wales.
The Council has, however, put in place improved arrangements to strengthen its governance and oversight arrangements in relation to Silent Valley.
All local authorities in Wales have a duty to ensure that public resources within their stewardship are safeguarded and that they have put in place proper arrangements to ensure that public money is well-spent. This duty applies not only to public resources used directly by local authorities, but extends to public resources used by companies owned and/or controlled by local authorities.
Silent Valley Waste Services Limited (Silent Valley) is a company owned and controlled by Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council.
Concerns were raised with the Auditor General regarding the relationship between the Council and Silent Valley, and the Auditor General decided to examine whether the Council had established effective governance and oversight arrangements in respect of Silent Valley.
The Auditor General’s report concludes that the Council failed to establish robust and effective arrangements in respect of its relationship with Silent Valley between 2003 and 2017. The audit identified a number of significant concerns regarding the adequacy of the Council’s arrangements and found that the Council failed to: