Row over £2.3m overspend at Bedford council as Lib Dems accused of 'smoke and mirrors'

A senior Bedford borough councillor told members that a Lib Dem amendment to a financial report was the “maddest” one he’d ever seen.

When presenting the outturn reports for the last financial year, the portfolio holder for finance, risk and welfare, councillor Graeme Coombes, told Wednesday’s Full Council Meeting (July 12) that there was a net overspend of £2.269 million.

An outturn report compares the actual expenditure for the year to the approved budget for the year.

The Conservative councillor for Wixams said: “[We have] inherited an extremely difficult financial picture from the previous Liberal Democrat administration.

“Far from the picture of prudence and fiscal responsibility that we were always lectured on by the former portfolio holder – it is a story of significant overspend.

“The Liberal Democrats always went back about 14 years blaming the old county council for all of their woes.

“I don’t have to go back 14 weeks to be able to point the finger at the Liberal Democrats by having run this council at a deficit for the last year,” he said.

Councillor Michael Headley (Lib Dems, Putnoe), the former portfolio holder for finance, said: “The decisions on this outturn report lie with the new portfolio holder and the executive

“The end of year data was for them to look at and decide what to do.

“What’s surprised me is that you don’t seem to have used those tools that we have made available to you.

“You make no attempt to prioritise balancing the outturn report, I don’t know if that was due to you being new in the job or that you’re happy to present a worse picture than reality.

“Whichever way it was, I think it’s important before Full Council to set the record straight tonight,” he said.

Councillor Headley’s amendment was to add a note to the report that included “the Conservative Executive have [sic] determined an outturn position of £2.3 million overspend, despite opportunities to deliver a balanced outturn”.

Councillor Coombes said: “Let’s debunk a couple of myths, I think this is the maddest amendment I’ve seen.

“The Conservatives have determined the outturn of £2.3 million overspend, it happened on your watch councillor Headley.

“The financial year ends on the 31st of March, the election took place on the fourth of May.

“You can’t pass the buck for things that you’ve done on your watch. This is just insane that you’re putting this before the council.

“This list of things, it is smoke and mirrors to deflect from your poor management.

“It is an appalling amendment, it’s literally just trying to protect your legacy of overspend and mismanagement, which we are having to deal with,” he said.

Councillor Headley said: “What we’ve shown is that if this was our report and if we had come to this point there was no need for an overspend.

“There would have been no overspend, we would have dealt with it,” he said.

Councillor Coombes added: “I really do think the councillor Headley lives in his own world, I really do.

“He was the portfolio holder on whose watch this happened, and even now councillor Headley you sit there and say ‘we gave you the tools’.

“You still think you’re running the show, you’re not you lost the election and you need to understand that,” he said.

The Lib Dem amendment was carried.