Caerphilly Observer
Member Sign in Manage Membership
Become a Member - no ads
Menu
  • News
    • Senedd
    • Business
    • Newport
    • Opinion
  • Sport
    • Rugby union
    • Football
  • Membership & Subscriptions
  • Notices
  • Obituaries
  • About
    • Advertise
  • Sponsored Content
Menu

City Deal accounts delays ‘not good enough’

Newport | Nicholas Thomas - Local Democracy Reporting Service | Published: 16:56, Friday August 1st, 2025.

Support quality, independent, local journalism…that matters

From just £1 a month you can help fund our work – and use our website without adverts. Become a member today

Newport Civic Centre
Newport Civic Centre

A Newport council committee has criticised accounting delays for the Cardiff Capital Region’s City Deal as “not good enough”.

The local authority’s head of finance has warned further delays could have ever more serious impacts on the council’s own ability to publish its accounts.

The Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) is a joint venture between ten local authorities in South East Wales and focuses on regional investment and prosperity.

Its work is overseen by a corporate joint committee, or CJC.

Newport’s audit committee was told the council had not yet received the CCR City Deal accounts for 2023/24.

“Are you surprised at the delay?” committee member Don Reed asked officers, adding: “I’m surprised, or am I missing something?”

“Obviously they’re late, but they’ve been late for the second or third year,” replied Meirion Rushworth, the council’s head of finance. “Are we surprised? No, because it’s happened before. We are kept up to date with how they are working with Audit Wales to move that on. We’re not surprised because we’ve been kept abreast of things.”

Residents’ feedback and complaints ‘important’ if council is to improve

He added: “Is it a problem? Yes of course it is, and the CJC is working with Audit Wales to resolve the position. Will it have an impact on our accounts and all the other accounts? It might do, and that is still an ongoing conversation.”

Har Ping Boey, the council’s assistant head of finance, said she understood the accounts for 2023/24 were still subject to auditing, but those for 2024/25 would be signed off by October.

Committee chairman Gareth Chapman said he shared Mr Reed’s views on the delays.

“It’s just not good enough, to be in a position three years on, and they can’t get their accounts sorted,” Mr Chapman said.

Councillors ‘blindsided’ by £5.25m settlement for power station contract

The committee agreed unanimously with his proposals to write to Wales’ auditor general, and the chief executive of the CJC, expressing their “concern that the accounts again this year have not been delivered and therefore we at Newport are obviously having to make assumptions of some kind”.

Mr Chapman added: “If elected members in this council thought Meirion and his team are going to be two or three months late in delivering the accounts, it wouldn’t be acceptable, would it? So why should we as a council accept it from the City Deal?”

The chairman said the nation’s auditor general had “written to one authority saying it could be a misstatement in the accounts shortly because of the value of it – so if he’s raising concern, I think we ought to raise concern”. 

“It is becoming more material every single year, and there will come a point when the auditors will not be signing off our accounts,” Mr Rushworth added.

The CCR was contacted for comment.


Sign-up to our daily newsletter


Support quality, independent, local journalism…that matters

From just £1 a month you can help fund our work – and use our website without adverts.

Become a member today

LDRS

Latest News

  • The National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth
    National Library on high alert over cyber attacksFriday, October 10, 2025
  • Aerial Image of the proposed development site (marked roughly in yellow) next to Coedcae Road, Abertridwr
    Plans for 17 new homes finally get thumbs upFriday, October 10, 2025
  • Caerphilly Sport Awards 2025 finalists announcedFriday, October 10, 2025
  • St Peter's Church, Deri, pictured in July 2025
    Church and hall could be transformed into two new homesFriday, October 10, 2025
  • Premier Stores in Bedwlwyn Road, Ystrad Mynach, pictured in June 2025
    Five flats proposed for space above shopFriday, October 10, 2025
  • Stock image
    Landlords count the costs of building safety billFriday, October 10, 2025

Find out how the communities of Caerphilly County Borough get their names

Caerphilly

Legal & Public Notices

  • Caerphilly County Borough Council public noticesThursday, October 2, 2025
  • Notice of application for a premises licence: Hanbury Road, BargoedThursday, September 25, 2025
  • Notice of application for a variation of a premises licence: Pontygwindy Industrial EstateThursday, September 18, 2025
  • Caerphilly County Borough Council public noticesThursday, September 18, 2025
© 2009-2024 Caerphilly Media Ltd, Caerphilly Miners Centre for the Community Watford Road Caerphilly, CF83 1BJ. Incorporated in Wales No. 07604006.