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To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 6 February (HL4386) about correspondence from the Tees Valley Mayor, whether they have now made a determination about the value for money of the Teesworks project and, if not, why not; and when they...
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 6 February (HL4386) about correspondence from the Tees Valley Mayor, whether they have now made a determination about the value for money of the Teesworks project and, if not, why not; and when they...
On 3 April 2025 my department issued Tees Valley Combined Authority with a non-statutory Best Value Notice for an initial period of 12 months. The Notice seeks assurance from the authority that it is complying with its Best Value Duty and has a clear strategy for improvement.
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the letter from the Tees Valley Mayor issued on 27 September 2024 in response to the Tees Valley Review on the Teesworks project; and what are the reasons for their delay in replying.
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the letter from the Tees Valley Mayor issued on 27 September 2024 in response to the Tees Valley Review on the Teesworks project; and what are the reasons for their delay in replying.
We are considering the mayor’s update from September 2024 and will respond in due course. It is right that we consider this matter carefully.
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made on whether the Teesworks regeneration project has met value for money criteria based on the answers and assurances made by the Tees Valley Mayor in progress reports.
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made on whether the Teesworks regeneration project has met value for money criteria based on the answers and assurances made by the Tees Valley Mayor in progress reports.
The Best Value Duty requires local authorities, including combined authorities, to make arrangements to secure continuous improvement in the way in which their functions are exercised, having regard to a combination of economy, efficiency and effectiveness. We are considering all the material and will respond in due course.
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the response to the Secretary of the State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities from the Tees Valley Mayor in September, what assessment they have made of whether all 28 recommendations from the Tees Valley Review, published 23 January, will be carried out effectively...
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the response to the Secretary of the State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities from the Tees Valley Mayor in September, what assessment they have made of whether all 28 recommendations from the Tees Valley Review, published 23 January, will be carried out effectively...
We received a response from the Mayor on the recommendations made by the independent Tees Valley Review. We are currently reviewing that response against the recommendations made and we will publish our response as soon as our review is completed.
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to respond to the reply to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities from the Tees Valley Mayor in September about the recommendations from the Tees Valley Review and, if so, when and how they will publish their response.
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to respond to the reply to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities from the Tees Valley Mayor in September about the recommendations from the Tees Valley Review and, if so, when and how they will publish their response.
We received a response from the Mayor on the recommendations made by the independent Tees Valley Review. We are currently reviewing that response against the recommendations made and we will publish our response as soon as our review is completed.
To ask His Majesty's Government on what date they have asked the Tees Valley Mayor to submit his final response to the independent Tees Valley Review published on 23 January, and whether they plan to publish this response in full.
To ask His Majesty's Government on what date they have asked the Tees Valley Mayor to submit his final response to the independent Tees Valley Review published on 23 January, and whether they plan to publish this response in full.
The previous government’s independent review into the Tees Valley Combined Authority’s oversight of the South Tees Development Corporation and Teesworks Ltd was published 29 January 2024. The then Secretary of State wrote to the mayor in March 2024 requesting a further report in six months’ time. We expect to receive this report in September 2024, and to publish this in due course.
To ask His Majesty’s Government whether they plan to request the National Audit Office to carry out an inspection to the Teesworks programme, and if so when.
To ask His Majesty’s Government whether they plan to request the National Audit Office to carry out an inspection to the Teesworks programme, and if so when.
The previous Government asked the Tees Valley mayor to provide a progress update in September, following the recommendations of the independent review of Tees Valley Combined Authority’s oversight of the South Tees Development Corporation and Teesworks Joint Venture. Once we have received that update, we will consider whether the questions that need to be answered have been and whether any further action should be taken.
My Lords, many Teessiders’ jaws will drop on the floor when they hear that Answer from the Minister, as every Labour candidate in Teesside promised that a National Audit Office review would take place. In the light of half a billion pounds of taxpayers’ money being used and two businessmen making multimillion pound profits without taking any liabilities or any risk to their money, does that constitute best value? Why leave the people who have created the mess to solve the mess without any enforceable action being taken by Government?
My Lords, many Teessiders’ jaws will drop on the floor when they hear that Answer from the Minister, as every Labour candidate in Teesside promised that a National Audit Office review would take place. In the light of half a billion pounds of taxpayers’ money being used and two businessmen making multimillion pound profits without taking any liabilities or any risk to their money, does that constitute best value? Why leave the people who have created the mess to solve the mess without any enforceable action being taken by Government?
My Lords, I pay tribute to the work the noble Lord, Lord Scriven, does in local government, and I understand the deep emotions that he talks about, because there are outstanding questions to which the public deserve answers. We understand that this issue, like all local issues, is emotive. This is evidenced by it being raised in this House and in the other place several times. In fact, the noble Lord, Lord Scriven, has asked this question before. This Government believe that scrutiny and transparency are important. However, we must carefully consider the mayor’s response, due in September, and we will consider any further action to take when we receive it. We are not ruling out any options, and one option could be requesting the NAO to review.
My Lords, I appreciate that the Minister has said the Government have to wait for the mayor’s answers to the questions, which is different from what was being said before the Government were on the Government Benches. However, the review panel said in the report that the responses
“reduced our confidence that we have been given access to all relevant materials”.
The panel also said that it had
“not been able to pursue all lines of evidence or examine all transactions”.
Is that not why a full statutory audit is required: so that the Government convince themselves that Teessiders are getting value for money? With a response from the mayor, the report will have not seen all relevant information.
My Lords, I appreciate that the Minister has said the Government have to wait for the mayor’s answers to the questions, which is different from what was being said before the Government were on the Government Benches. However, the review panel said in the report that the responses
“reduced our confidence that we have been given access to all relevant materials”.
The panel also said that it had
“not been able to pursue all lines of evidence or examine all transactions”.
Is that not why a full statutory audit is required: so that the Government convince themselves that Teessiders are getting value for money? With a response from the mayor, the report will have not seen all relevant information.
The noble Lord again makes an important point. I remind the House that it is not the normal role of the NAO to examine or to audit local bodies. However, I understand that the NAO previously stated that it is willing to work outside
its usual scope to undertake a review about Teesworks. We cannot prejudge the response of the Mayor of Tees Valley. When we get that response, we will look at it. In relation to the noble Lord’s question, that is another issue for the combined authority and the Mayor of Tees Valley to look at. Whatever happens, once that response is back with the Government, we will look at it and take further action then.
To ask His Majesty's Government how they intend to monitor progress on the implementation of the 28 recommendations in the Tees Valley Review; and whether they intend to make their findings public.
To ask His Majesty's Government how they intend to monitor progress on the implementation of the 28 recommendations in the Tees Valley Review; and whether they intend to make their findings public.
On 7 March, the Secretary of State responded to the Mayor’s initial response to the independent review, acknowledging that the Authority is working collaboratively to engage with the recommendations from the review and working out how best to implement them, and requesting a further report in six months’ time.
When the Mayor’s further response is received, we will issue a Government response as soon as possible.
My Lords, two businessmen are making multi-millions of pounds of profits on the back of £0.5 billion-worth of taxpayers’ investment, without them putting any of their own cash at risk or taking any liabilities until they are negated against guaranteed income streams. The Tees Valley Review said that these generous contractual arrangements should be renegotiated, as the businessmen are making super-profits at the expense of local taxpayers. Do the Government agree with that finding and the suggested change that needs to be made?
My Lords, two businessmen are making multi-millions of pounds of profits on the back of £0.5 billion-worth of taxpayers’ investment, without them putting any of their own cash at risk or taking any liabilities until they are negated against guaranteed income streams. The Tees Valley Review said that these generous contractual arrangements should be renegotiated, as the businessmen are making super-profits at the expense of local taxpayers. Do the Government agree with that finding and the suggested change that needs to be made?
I can assure this House that the mayor has accepted all the recommendations in that report and is enacting them now. We have asked for a report in six months’ time on how much progress has been made. We expect that there will be significant progress, including any renegotiation of those contracts.
Lords private notice question on what assessment the Government have made of allegations of corruption related to the redevelopment of the Redcar Steelworks site in Teesside.
Lords private notice question on what assessment the Government have made of allegations of corruption related to the redevelopment of the Redcar Steelworks site in Teesside.