TVCA:

Approaching

 New Dawn

or High Noon?



Scott Hunter

5 September 2024

 TVCA Overview and Scrutiny Committee met yesterday morning (4 September) to discuss the TVCA's draft response to the recommendations of the Tees Valley Review. The mood among members was largely a mixture of suspicion and resentment.

The new recommendations set out to clarify the reach of this committee. Trouble is, it doesn't reach very far. Acting chief legal officer for the TVCA repeatedly told members that they could command TVCA cabinet to supply any information they wanted.

As for the South Tees Development Corporation, they could request information from its board, and they might get it and they might not. If the STDC board refused to supply information, it would give an explanation in writing.

This goes some way to explaining the suspicion that was on display.

And Teesworks Ltd (TWL), the company run by Martin Corney and Chris Musgrave is not required to supply any information at all. O&S committee members objected that organisations in receipt of public money should be open to scrutiny.

TVCA finance director stated that TWL does not receive public money and so this doesn't apply. Cllr Creevy (Hartlepool) objected that TWL is in receipt of public assets and so should be accountable to O&S committee.

The upshot of the discussion was that, like it or not, TWL is not accountable to this committee. Furthermore, development corporations are not required by law to have their own O&S committees.

So, there is no direct oversight of STDC, Middlesbrough Development Corporation or Hartlepool Development Corporation.

After two hours of intense discussion, and strenuous defence of the TVCA by its acting chief legal officer, much of what is contained in the 844-page report that had been circulated to members had not been touched upon.

One key omission from the discussion was the provision for renegotiation of contracts with joint venture partners, Corney and Musgrave. This was partly because the partners have not presented any proposals for this. And neither has TVCA CEO, Julie Gilhespie.

And speaking of TVCA CEO, Julie Gilhespie, given the seriousness of the situation, it was surprising that she did not attend the meeting herself.

Other things that need to be on TVCA agenda include creating a more business-like arena for committee meetings. 18 committee members shared microphones one between six. Comments were often difficult to hear properly. To make things worse, the airport venue meant that discussion was interrupted regularly by aircraft.

Draken's famously annoying little planes were taking off about one every fifteen minutes, drowning out speakers. Time for the TVCA to get triple glazing at its HQ, perhaps?

Adding to the sense of impermanence was the acting chief legal officer/monitoring officer herself. Acting up since at least January 2023. Given that this is a key role in an organisation that is in crisis, some might say that finding a permanent postholder might be a priority.

The acting chief legal officer single-handedly defended the TVCA at the meeting, which was quite an ask for someone denied the authority and autonomy of a permanent post. But the atmosphere at the meeting was civil throughout. This, at the TVCA, is not something that can be taken for granted. After all it is only 12 months since the same acting chief legal officer (acting at whose behest we do not know for certain) sent out threatening letters to committee members, as recorded here in our article, TVCA Threatens Members of Oversight Committees.

 What we witnessed today was an unfinished discussion of an incomplete and ambiguous document making recommendations based on an incomplete review of the operation of the TVCA. The authority has a lot of work to do, and little time to do it in. But at least committee members have some clarity on what information the TVCA thinks they  are entitled to.