Haringey Property Investigation Released

The independent report into Haringey Council’s historic property dealings has been released, resulting in 12 recommendations for the council to take forward and vindicating calls from the Lib Dem opposition for the report to be commissioned.
 
Due to an ongoing police investigation into the council’s conduct, not all potential interviewees were spoken to, and the review did not consider the possibility of criminality in past transactions.
 
The review was scathing of Haringey’s historic failings in a number of areas, including “absence of effective governance structures”, “the historic lack of a comprehensive property management system” and the fact that in one case there was “no comprehensive audit trail to determine who authorised, decided or agreed anything”.
 
Furthermore, several parts of the investigation focused on the council’s relationship with a single developer, with the report stating that “it is also conceivable that information on the sites could have been passed by a Council representative to the third party”, and there is “clear evidence” that this happened on at least one occasion.
 
The report’s 12 recommendations, which would result in a total overhaul of the council’s property department, will now be submitted for cabinet’s approval.
 
Cllr Luke Cawley-Harrison (LD-Crouch End), Leader of the Opposition in Haringey, said:
“This report is utterly damning of Labour-run Haringey Council, painting a picture of a completely inept organisation which has wasted millions in public money. The council’s failure to provide key information like audit trails or details of its property management system, which should be standard in any local authority, is at best indicative of extreme incompetence, and at worst deliberate obfuscation. All administration councillors and council officers must continue to work with the police whilst their fraud investigation continues.”
 
Notes:
Full Report