Shadow Cabinet Secretary for North Wales and Clwyd West MS Darren Millar has criticised the Labour Welsh Government for allowing the Director of Finance at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) to stay in post for almost two years after false accounting at the board was exposed.
Sue Hill, Executive Director of Finance at the North Wales health board, has resigned two years after a damning report.
Accountancy firm EY (Ernst & Young) wrote a scathing report over financial dealings at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board in the 2021-2022 accounts. This included deliberately incorrect entries into their own accounts as well as finding "systematic cultural failings" in the organisation's finance team. It followed the Auditor General identifying “significant errors” within its 2021-22 accounts.
Yesterday in the Senedd, Darren said it is “shocking that people are allowed to depart when they should be sacked” and called for an urgent Welsh Government Statement on the matter.
He said:
“I call for a statement that's required from the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services in relation to the departure of the director of finance at the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.
“Many people in my constituency are absolutely outraged that the director of finance is going to leave on favourable terms towards the end of the year, despite the fact that there were shocking things identified in the Ernst & Young report, which found that there was false accounting, irregularities and deliberate errors that were being made by individuals in the finance team. Frankly, it is shocking that people are allowed to depart when they should have been sacked.
“This is over two years since this report was made available to the board. It's a board that is in special measures under the control of the Welsh Government, and, that you should be allowing a departure in this way is totally unacceptable.
“So can we have a statement this week from the Minister responsible for the special measures arrangements so that we can hold the Welsh Government to account for its failure to act on this matter?”
Responding, the Welsh Government’s Trefnydd (Business Manager), Jane Hutt MS, said:
“The matter of the resignation of the executive director of finance is an employment matter and it's therefore a matter for the Betsi Cadwaladr health board to respond to.”
Speaking afterwards, Darren said:
“Once again the Welsh Government are washing their hands of any responsibility. As I pointed out in the Chamber, this is a health board that is in special measures and therefore under direct control of the Labour Welsh Government. The people of North Wales deserve a statement and quite frankly it is disgraceful that they are being refused one.”
