North Wales MS and Chair of the Senedd’s Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee (PAPAC), Mark Isherwood, has vowed to do all he can to obtain a copy of the Ernst & Young report alleging financial irregularities at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board “to allow prompt and thorough scrutiny by PAPAC”.
Speaking in today’s Welsh Conservatives Debate ‘Accounting practices at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board’, in which Welsh Conservatives called for the publication of the report, Mr Isherwood said he has been trying for weeks to get a copy and warned that if “the report is not made available to the Committee, we will explore our Powers to Call under section 37 of the Government of Wales Act 2006”.
He said:
“As PAPAC Chair, I have been in discussions with the Health Board for some weeks to obtain a copy of this report for formal Committee scrutiny.
“We have offered to discuss various options regarding how this report can be shared with us to ensure that any ongoing investigations are not impeded.
“I am committed to working with the Health Board to secure a copy of this report through official channels as soon as possible.
“We are all aware of the public interest in these matters and it is frustrating that while the contents of the report have been detailed in the public domain, PAPAC has not been afforded the opportunity to conduct appropriate scrutiny.
“It is imperative that our request is dealt with expediently, to allow prompt and thorough scrutiny by PAPAC.
“In the event the report is not made available to the Committee, we will explore our Powers to Call under section 37 of the Government of Wales Act 2006. However, I hope we will not need to exercise this legal power and expect the Health Board to recognise the respect that is due to a national legislature, on a significant matter such as this.”
During the debate, Mr Isherwood quoted the Health Board’s former Chair who stated: “A range of longstanding shortcomings and concerns were escalated formally at the start of September not just to the then CEO but also to the Minister and the Director General. Those escalations and the basis for them were simply ignored by (Welsh) Government”, and from a Statement he received on behalf of the former Independent Members of the Health Board, in which they stated:
“Welsh Government and the Executive Team run Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, with the Board an afterthought at times”… “Those who battled to see the organisation learn from past failings have been replaced”.
He also referred to the fact that at its meeting on 3rd May, the Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee received evidence from former independent non-Executive members of the Health Board, forced to resign by the Minister, which included:
- “… it was actually the independent members then that brought in Ernst & Young to come and do an independent further in-depth review, and that currently is a report that clearly has not yet been released into the public domain ….. As Independent Members, we were absolutely flabbergasted at that statement of 'no further action' from NHS (Wales) counter- fraud, when items within the Ernst & Young report quite clearly show a range of financial irregularities of a significant amount, not just within Betsi, but potentially reaching into other departments across the NHS in Wales, other Health Boards, and, in fact, straight into the Welsh Government itself.”
- “The financial performance wasn't our only area of concern… the Ernst & Young report should be released… given what we knew.”