EAST Hampshire District Council has been awarded a massive £650,000 in the latest round of government grants for its planning performance, but it is far too early for councillors to pat themselves on the back. They would be wise to put off any celebrations until they discover how much they will be able to keep once full-scale investigations into the falsification of its planning performance figures have been completed. Pat Burridge, EHDC's development control portfolio holder, made the grant announcement at Wednesday night's overview and scrutiny committee meeting. It was the same night that members received the most damning report yet from strategic manager Bill Price on how figures had been deliberately falsified to make East Hampshire District Council's planning performance look better than it was. But in a statement that brushed aside the possibility that EHDC may not be able to keep all its latest grant funding, and totally ignored the scandal that has raged around him for more than six months, senior Tory Pat Burridge said: "This is excellent news. I welcome the increase in grant, which will help us continue to provide a good planning service for local people. I am pleased that the improvements we have been making are recognised by the government." However, the council is still reeling from the damage caused when it was discovered that the start and end dates in the decision- making process had been altered to make it look as though the council had been meeting government targets for the speed of the planning decision process. The deliberate alterations meant that the council received government planning delivery grant some of which it did not deserve. Three weeks ago, the head of planning development, Ian Ellis, resigned. And only last week it was announced that EHDC had been forced to pay back £60,000 of last year's grant after an internal investigation revealed incorrect figures had gone to the government. A subsequent investigation has thrown up even more falsified figures, mostly relating to the start date of applications. And even before Wednesday's £650,000 grant announcement, chief executive Will Godrey had admitted that there might be even more repayment shocks in the pipeline. EHDC had, he said, kept the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister fully informed of the council's planning performance investigations and was waiting to hear whether it would be further penalised. But, crucially, the independent Audit Commission is now carrying out its own investigations into malpractice over EHDC's planning figures. This inquiry will not be finished until the end of April, so it is possible the ODPM will want to reconsider its latest grant allocation after that. Making the latest planning delivery grants, the government warned that, in cases where authorities have submitted "fraudulent, erroneous, inaccurate, incomplete or compiled-in-error" figures, their grant money could be withheld by up to ten per cent. In the statement from the ODPM last week, authorities were also warned that, if the government did have concerns about data they received, the minister could ask for more information. If that was not provided in the specified time, the grant could be cut by up to a further half. At last week's overview and scrutiny committee meeting, it was clear that the council had finally decided to report fully and publicly, in a bid to draw a line under the grim saga. Mr Godrey told the meeting: "We have to work hard to regain trust in the service and I am keen to do it. One of the ways we are trying to do it is by presenting this to you in open session. I want the issues to be properly and openly debated." He stressed that the last few weeks of Mr Price's investigations had been very difficult for council staff. But, he said, 'the difficulties we face must not detract from the ongoing commitment and professionalism of the staff in the planning department". And he praised Mr Price for his thorough handling of the "unpalatable" issues. "There is clear evidence that there was a deliberate attempt to manipulate start dates," he told the meeting. "The reason we are where we are is not because Acolaid (the computer system) is a bad system, but because we did not understand how to use it and that is something we need to recognise." Mr Godfrey added that a decision taken in September 2004 to alter a date relating to a major application had been "indefensible and could open the council to further repayment of money to the ODPM". Continued on page 4

He said there was no evidence that there had been pressure from councillors to meet government targets; it appeared that the responsibility for the malpractice lay purely with officers. It was now time to turn the council's attention to the future, said Mr Godfrey, and to go ahead with action plans. These included putting in place interim management arrangements, recruiting a new head of the planning development, undertaking a full business process management review of the planning unit and making updates to the overview and scrutiny committee on the progress made. "I genuinely believe that Mr Price has done well to get to the bottom of an issue that has been very unpalatable. Let's make sure we go forward and get a better service," he concluded. Councillors paid tribute to the planning staff, who they said had continued to work superbly in tense and difficult circumstances. But Liberal Democrat leader Tony Ludlow was verbally mauled when he said he believed there should be an increase in the staff. The council had believed it had enough planning staff because it seemed they were meeting targets, he said, but now it seemed that more officers might be needed. He added: "We clearly have been asking more of our staff, than they - superb as they are - are capable of delivering. We must not draw the line and bury this issue, because we need to continue to learn what it is that needs to be put right to achieve the correct figures. "There is a great deal to learn. The staff are excellent, but we, as members, have not supported them. We haven't given them enough colleagues." A furious Tory leader, Ferris Cowper, accused Mr Ludlow of making party political comments. Mr Burridge slammed his remarks as "rubbish" and deputy Tory leader Sam James said he was "appalled", adding that the council had devoted much time to trying to recruit staff.