If anyone ever writes a handbook entitled “How Not to Inspire Confidence in Local Government”, the Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) could save the publisher a great deal of time by simply submitting the minutes of its latest Audit and Governance Committee.
Last week, interim finance director Jo Moore sought to reassure councillors that she was committed to staying. Given that she’d already extended her contract beyond its original 31 July end date to September, specifically to give the authority more time to recruit a permanent replacement, that reassurance carried some weight. After all, the TVCA hadn’t managed to fill the role.
Just over a week later, she resigned.
Jo Moore managed to go from reassuring councillors she was staying to demonstrating why they needed the reassurance in the first place. The ink was barely dry on the committee minutes before they had become a historical document.
Troubleshooter
The irony is hard to miss. Moore wasn’t the problem inherited by the TVCA; she was brought in to help solve one. Like other interim statutory officers before her, she arrived hoping to help steer the TVCA through rough governance waters. Instead, she found herself on a vessel where the passengers were already asking whether anyone was actually on the bridge.
Her extension to September was intended to buy the authority breathing space. Instead, it appears the TVCA has managed to run out of both time and finance directors simultaneously.
Revolving door
Recruitment has become the TVCA’s version of rearranging the deckchairs (haven’t we been here before?). Permanent senior officers come aboard, survey the horizon and, before long, seem to be making discreet enquiries about the nearest lifeboat.
Interim appointments are no longer the exception; they are practically part of the fleet. In other cases, vital positions simply sit empty. The role of Interim Head of Governance, for instance, had to be put to tender repeatedly, leaving the governance team leaderless for six months before a successful recruitment.
Chaos on the bridge
The bridge hasn’t exactly been a picture of stability either. Interim Monitoring Officer Jeanette McGarry (who herself replaced Emma Simson last year) is to be replaced by Andrew Perriman, who will arrive on a salary package that has already attracted attention. Mr Perriman is still working his notice at Barnsley Council, and isn’t expected to come aboard HMS TVCA until the beginning of September, by which time he may need SCUBA gear.
To do list
Whatever the justification for the remuneration, few would envy him. He inherits an authority still grappling with delayed accounts, external audit concerns, governance reforms, a Best Value Notice and growing political scrutiny over key financial decisions. He’s effectively been told, “Congratulations, you’re captain. The band is still playing, but we’d appreciate it if you could stop the ship sinking after hitting that giant iceberg.”
Weaknesses
And none of this exists in isolation. The independent Tees Valley Review highlighted weaknesses in governance, transparency and organisational culture back in 2024, recommending significant improvements. The government subsequently placed the TVCA under a Best Value Notice which was then extended. More than two years later external auditors Ernst & Young have repeatedly raised concerns over delayed accounts, governance arrangements and finance capacity.
Against that backdrop, the last thing the bridge needed was another senior officer heading for the gangway.
Man overboard
Which makes the timing particularly awkward. If you’re trying to reassure passengers that everything is under control, watching another senior officer leave the bridge inevitably raises questions about what the final straw was and leaves us to connect the dots.
Debt write-off
Which brings us to reports of an informal high stakes cabinet meeting discussing options surrounding loans to the South Tees Development Corporation (STDC) and Teesside Airport before formal public meetings took place. Including a write-off of the immense debt accrued. Those reports have inevitably prompted questions about transparency and decision-making, regardless of the authority’s explanation.
Local leader speaks out
Not all local leaders have been silent about this. Alec Brown leader of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council stated in a now deleted Facebook post:
“I have serious concerns regarding the financial stabilty of the TVCA, STDC and Airport.
Hundreds of millions of pounds of public monies have been loaned by the TVCA to both bodies over the last 10 years or so.
Time and time again we have been told it’s all under control. Reassurances given, accounts presented, different appointments in financial officer positions. And repeatedly told nothing to see here.
But is it?
All I see at the minute is hundreds of millions in unpaid loans. Yet another change in the financial director role looming and a lack of information on how all this debt is to be repaid.
I will certainly will not be supporting any move to write off debts at a TVCA level. If that is ever asked of us at cabinet.
All I want is a stable action plan presented to explain how as a TVCA the Best Value Notice can be lifted.”
Why this matters
Alec Brown’s opinions carry weight. Up until now, he’s been one of the chief boosters for the TVCA/STDC/Teesworks project, and its promise of badly needed business rates for his underfunded local authority. But Brown now seems to realise that this ship has sailed.
The writing on the wall
Alec Brown should know how it works by now. Back on 30 March, he was assured by STDC CEO John Barnes that he would be provided with a list of projects that justified a £100mn cash transfer from the TVCA to the STDC. The cash was, ostensibly, for transport projects. In reality, it was intended as a temporary prop for the STDC’s finances, as reported here. Unsurprisingly, Mr Barnes’ list of projects never materialised.
Bad Lieutenant
The leader of the TVCA Mayor Ben Houchen has long presented the authority as delivering ambitious regeneration projects and attracting investment as well as jobs, jobs, jobs. His supporters point to visible developments across the Tees Valley. His critics point to something rather less visible: an apparent inability to build and retain the stable senior leadership needed to underpin good governance.
The best organisations don’t just persuade talented people to come aboard, they persuade them it’s worth staying for the voyage, and reassure them that there are no icebergs on the horizon.
Dead in the water
When experienced interim officers arrive promising improvement, extend their contracts to help the organisation through a difficult period, and then leave anyway, we are entitled to ask why.
Though only Jo Moore knows the reason she decided to leave, and it would be wrong to pretend otherwise. But when public confidence is built on stability and another senior officer heads for the lifeboat just days after assuring everyone they’re staying on deck, people inevitably start wondering how much confidence the crew really has in the ship.
The band may still be playing, but more and more of the crew seem to be looking for a life jacket.
The TVCA has been contacted for comment but failed to respond to North East Bylines but it been brought to our attention that the TVCA confirmed Jo Moore will leave on 7 August and that Interim Deputy Section 73 Officer Alan Layton will take on statutory duties, subject to Cabinet approval at the 31 July meeting.
The authority said it is making “good progress” in recruiting a permanent replacement and has launched a recruitment drive for “eight additional finance roles”, which it believes will strengthen governance and resilience. The real test, however, won’t be attracting applicants, it will be persuading them to stay aboard HMS TVCA.
Thank you to Ray Casey for contributing to this article.
