John Evans MBE – resigned as Audit Committee chairman

OPPOSITION members on Pembrokeshire County Council’s Urgency Committee have criticised the method used to appoint Swansea solicitor Mr Peter Jones as lay (noncouncillor) member to the council’s audit committee. 

Mr Jones has been drafted in to replace Mr John Evans who resigned in controversial circumstances earlier this year. In his resignation letter, Mr Evans claimed that his attempt to have his committee examine certain issues regarding the grants scheme in Pembroke Dock had been blocked by council officers and that he had come to realise that the authority’s “appetite for change” did not match his own vision when he took up the post. In order to at least give the impression that they are independent of the ruling group, audit committees are required by statute to have at least one lay member, so, following Mr Evans resignation the committee has been in limbo.

Next Monday, the committee is due to discuss a critical report by the council’s internal audit service which catalogues the flaws, first identified by Hakin councillor Mike Stoddart over a year ago, in the way these grants have been administered. It was therefore imperative that a lay member be appointed ahead of that meeting – hence the use of the sevenmember urgency committee to endorse the audit committee appointment panel’s choice of Mr Jones. The members of three-person appointments panel, which, is not politically balanced; meets in secret; and produces no minutes, are Cllrs Tom Richards (IPPG), Stan Hudson (Tory) and a lay chairman Lynette George. Speaking at last Tuesday’s urgency committee, Cllr Tessa Hodgson (unaffiliated) said members were being asked to “rubber stamp” the appointment with next to no information on the qualifications of either the recommended candidate, or the other applicants. Cllr Tom Richards assured urgency committee members that there had been a lengthy interview process and that the panel had come to a unanimous decision that Mr Jones was the best person for the job. But that didn’t satisfy Cllr Hodgson who retorted that the committee had no information about the calibre of any of the candidates, or the job specification.

“How can we ratify a decision if we have no information?” she asked. Cllr Tom Richards assured members that, during the interviews, Mr Jones “stood out above the rest”. Monitoring Officer Laurence Harding explained that council had delegated the appointment process to the panel, which is required to make a recommendation back to council (in this case the urgency committee acting as full council). Cllr Paul Miller (Lab) said he was concerned that the authority “seemed to delegate anything it likes to panels” and that he was unsure that the panel had any legal status. But Mr Harding said this was the process used throughout Wales, though head of legal services Huw Miller agreed that just because other authorities used this system didn’t make it right. Cllr Hodgson complained “This is a public role on a public body – why shouldn’t people know about it” But Leader Jamie Adams told her: “Your position is totally unreasonable” to which Cllr Hodgson retorted that this was another example of “the council’s closed door mentality”.

“We are in the dark, we are the decision making body, but we have no information. I find it bizarre” she added, And Cllr Paul Miller agreed: “That is the crux of the matter,” he said ,“just sticking your hand up in favour of recommendations without knowing all the facts is dangerous. The process needs to be more open and transparent – people need to know how it works”. Head of legal services Huw Miller said he accepted the view that more information needed to be provided. But after Cllr Tom Richards said he was “entirely satisfied with the recommendation” the four IPPG members on the committee voted to endorse Mr Jones. Cllr Hodgson asked that it be recorded that she had voted against the decision and Cllr Miller abstained. A Council Spokesperson told The Herald: “The new lay member of Pembrokeshire County Council’s Audit Committee is Peter Jones. “ Mr Jones is a former senior partner with law firm Morgan Cole, Mr Jones is a former chair of the Board of Swansea College.

He was formerly vice chairman of Swansea Building Society. While at Morgan Cole, Mr Jones acted on behalf of a wide range of clients, including Swansea University, BP, a number of colleges in the further education sector, a number of housing associations in Wales, Milford Haven Port Authority and Wales and West Utilities. A Council spokesperson also said: “The deadline for applications was extended by a week as it was felt an insufficient number of people had applied for the post.”