This report in the public interest has been prepared in accordance with Section 22 of the Public Audit (Wales) Act 2004.

The Auditor General’s report in the public interest has identified significant, long-standing deficiencies in governance and oversight arrangements in relation to the way Blaenau Gwent County Council dealt with its own waste company, Silent Valley Waste Services Limited.

The audit identified a number of significant concerns regarding the adequacy of the Council’s arrangements and found that the Council failed to:

• correctly approve pay and pension arrangements in respect of Council officers appointed to the Silent Valley Board;
• comply with procurement regulations in respect of services provided by Silent Valley;
• ensure that Council appointments to the Board of Silent Valley complied with the Council’s constitution;
• establish proper governance and oversight arrangements in respect of Silent Valley from 2012 onwards to ensure accountability for the use of public resources;
• establish proper arrangements to manage potential conflicts of interest in respect of Council officers appointed to Silent Valley’s Board resulting in those officers being exposed to allegations that some of their actions were motivated by self-interest;
• ensure that decisions to make termination payments to Silent Valley directors were in accordance with the law and Silent Valley’s governing document; and
• put in place competitive and robust arrangements for the recruitment of Silent Valley’s new General Manager, (the Company’s most senior officer) in 2016.

There are lessons in the report that other Councils could find useful to learn from.