An independent report commissioned by West Berkshire Council into its own financial problems has come back with some damning insights into how the local authority is run.
An independent CIPFA report into West Berkshire Council’s finances has delivered harsh criticism of how the authority is run.
At Thursday’s executive meeting the Conservative opposition leader called for the Liberal Democrat executive to stand down after a heated exchange. Councillors also heard government funding in the review will fall from around £27m to £16m, adding fresh pressure to an already cash‑strapped council. (See Unfair Funding Review story).
CIPFA says roles and responsibilities between politicians and officers are blurred, weakening focus and accountability, and that the council’s own spending programme is “unaffordable”.
“West Berkshire Council is in a perilous position and has not clear financial plan to resolve the issue,” said Ross Mackinnon, Conservative group leader.
“A resident reading this report, which is the most damning of a council from an independent body I have ever seen, will want to know if this administration is just going to pay lip service to the report or act on their findings.”
The report was commissioned because the council receives around £16m of emergency Government funding, or exceptional financial support.
“Members are getting too involved in operational issues; officers are reluctant to challenge the financial merits of key decisions,” it says.
Pushing the point further, Mr Mackinnon told the chamber: “The response to this report is a disgrace. There are damning criticisms here.
“These are not political people.
“These [CIPFA] are public finance experts.
“The finances of West Berkshire Council are out of control and they are getting worse. and you are giving no indication you are grasping the nettle and doing something about it.
“If I’d have been leading an executive that recieved this paper I would have resigned en masse.”
Council leader Jeff Brooks (Lib Dem, Thatcham West) hit back, accusing Mr Mackinnon – who spoke by Zoom – of running reserves down when the Conservatives were in charge and of being “the architect of the council’s current financial position.”
The report highlights the Grazeley solar farm as a key example. Put forward by the previous Conservative administration as a £10m council‑funded project, costs have roughly doubled before any work has begun. CIPFA says cash‑flow modelling is overly optimistic and short‑term risks to the revenue account were not adequately scrutinised.
“Similarly, the council was unable to provide the evidence to demonstrate that the disposal of commercial investments adequatetly weighed up the costs and benefits to the revenue account.
“The figures we saw on anticipated rates of return were inaccurate.”
The reviewers also found insufficient oversight of transformation and savings initiatives, considerable slippage on key projects, and systems that undermine the finance team’s ability to provide timely updates and scrutiny.
A re‑sizing project began in July 2025 to upskill and build capacity in the finance team, but CIPFA warns that until those changes are in place members and senior officers will struggle to monitor progress or take timely corrective action.
It adds that current savings plans are largely short term and do not tackle structural problems, transformation work is “siloed and lack sufficient co‑ordination or oversight”, and the capital programme is too large and not affordable.
Finance portfolio holder Iain Cottingham (Lib Dem, Thatcham Centre) set out how the council is responding: a financial improvement group with external expertise has been set up, all spending now goes through a panel, and he welcomed the CIPFA report as “good having indpendent eyes over things”.
“There is a whole list of actions which will go in front of the financial improvement group as a result of this report,” he said.
Niki Hinman, Local Democracy Reporter
