Core Fit Limited

In 2015, the Labour Group on Cheshire East Council raised concerns over contracts awarded to Core Fit Ltd, a company run by a close friend of then Conservative Leader, Michael Jones.

Since then the management and leadership of the council has changed and Cheshire East Council now has a Labour Leader. Internal investigations were halted while a police investigation was carried out. In June 2020 the Crown Prosecution Service advised that “although there were issues in relation to procurement, there was insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction against any individual.”

This decision by the Crown Prosecution Service allowed the internal investigation to resume. On 20 January the council finally published a report into the contracts awarded to Core Fit Ltd. The details of what happened are set out in the report. The review identified that ‘management override of control’ played a significant part.

Contracts totalling well over £100,000 were awarded to provide a fitness programme in schools and community hubs. In 2014 a £20,000 pilot scheme was set up run by Core Fit. An extra £9,000 was added in February 2015 believed to be ‘in relation to insurance cover which the provider was required to have and had not previously been in place’. Then a procurement was carried out for a larger contract, but when Core Fit came 5th out of 13, the procurement exercise was scrapped and the pilot scheme ‘extended’. In March 2015 a new contract was awarded valued at £115,000 covering schools and community hubs for adults. An up front payment of £30,000 was made on 29 April 2015. In August 2015 concerns were raised about an absence of DBS checks, parental consent and escalation routes for any issues identified during the sessions. In September 2015 the contracts were cancelled.

The report concluded that the problems arose because of a ‘widespread failure to follow due process’ under the previous administration and that ‘the current culture actively discourages deviation from due process through clear behavioural values’. The report gives satisfactory assurance that controls are now adequate to address the risks identified and that although the possibility of override of controls can never be dismissed, the culture of the council has changed so that any such behaviour is now more likely to be identified and challenged.

Councillor Alift Harewood MBE, Labour Councillor for Macclesfield West & Ivy said “The former Leader of the council has left, but the former Cabinet Members for Children’s Services & Adults Services need to explain how contractors were operating in schools without insurance and were dealing with children and vulnerable adults without DBS checks.”

Councillor Steve Hogben, Labour Councillor for Crewe South said “It is incredible that Cabinet Members did not know what was going on in their portfolios and that even when a waiver notice was prepared but not signed, the Cabinet Member for procurement was not aware of what was going on. There is a staggering level of ‘management override of controls’. Sadly the Crown Prosecution Service has found that here isn’t a realistic prospect of a conviction against any individual, but there should be public accountability for those who allowed these events and the culture to go unchecked.’’