Council Finances in Turmoil

The Council is facing major problems with its investments in Together Energy and Redwood Bank. These come on top of questions about investment in the HUT Group and the on-going failure to have the 2017/18 Accounts signed off, writes Liberal Democrat Finance Spokesperson, Cllr Ian Marks.

Liberal Democrats supported the attempt by the Council to work with Together Energy to try and find a way of preventing the company from going into administration by attracting new funding. This was a forlorn hope in the current energy market but had to be tried. On many occasions we have stated that we support the Council in most of their commercial investments to generate income to meet the shortfall caused by central government cuts.

Regeneration in the town, solar farms and housing are risks worth taking. However, I say again, that right from the start we have opposed the investments in Together Energy and Redwood Bank. They were too risky, and Councils have no expertise in such businesses. Sadly, the collapse of Together Energy and the downgrade in the valuation of the Bank shows we were right. The investment in the HUT Group is also questionable. It is worth reminding the Labour Council that the men behind the Bank and HUT are both major donors to the Conservative Party.

We question why the Government has not been clearer about what kind of investments are legal and justified. We live in a strange world where a Council is allowed to borrow money cheaply and then invest it in commercial ventures in totally different businesses to make a profit. The Conservatives complain about the Council's high level of debt, but we don't hear them complaining about the record levels of debt incurred by their government. Local Conservatives have never told the public how they would protect vital services if there was no investment income.

We must hope that ongoing discussions over the next few weeks between the regulator OFGEM, Together Energy and the Council will minimise the financial impact on Warrington taxpayers.