Council scrutiny committee responds to ‘shock’ letter from Sheffield City Trust chairman

David Grey, chairman of Sheffield City Trust, sent a letter to members of Sheffield Council’s economic and environmental scrutiny and policy development committee addressing issues raised about SCT in meetings.

One of the latest meetings was about a council decision to give a total of £16.6 million to help the trust cope with Covid-19 and reopen venues, during which councillors criticised SCT leadership, including being on holiday during crucial talks.

In the leaked note, Mr Grey said some comments made him ‘incandescent with rage’.

Councillor Denise Fox, chair of the committee, and councillor Ian Auckland, deputy chair, since responded with their own letter.

They wrote: “We are disappointed and dismayed to receive your letter.

“The committee has both a remit and a legal duty to scrutinise any service arrangements within its terms of reference and were clearly disappointed that they were unable to ask questions directly of the executive team.

“We are all independent people who take our roles and responsibilities seriously.”

It added they will reiterate the role of the committee at future meetings, asked the monitoring officer to review procedural issues and invited Mr Grey and his team to meetings to provide input on leisure strategy.

In his reply, Mr Grey said: “My letter did not criticise your committee, its processes, or your chairmanship of it. I applaud the concept of scrutiny and feel strongly that the council should be held accountable for its spending decisions.

“However, what I objected to in my letter was not that councillors were asking questions but that they were making unsubstantiated and ill-informed claims and allegations which looked to damage my reputation, that of my trustees and executives and brought the role of SCT into disrepute.

“I hope this clears up my position in respect of the scrutiny board and the good work it does.”

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