£65 million black hole found in police budget

Good afternoon readers — and welcome to our Monday briefing.

There are small mistakes and there are big mistakes. The £65 million black hole in the South Yorkshire police budget, due to a “fundamental error in accounting practice”, is definitely at the more serious end of the scale. It’s come to light since South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard took over the role of Police and Crime Commissioner. However, he and South Yorkshire Police’s Chief Constable Lauren Poultney are the ones who are going to have to figure out what to do about it, and fast. That’s our big story today.

As well as that, we have a brand new exhibition by a much-loved Sheffield street artist, and a lovely home on the most neighbourly street in the city.

Our latest launch! We’re incredibly excited at Mill Media to announce that our latest title, The Bell, has now launched — covering the endlessly fascinating city of Glasgow. Led by Robbie Armstrong and Moya Lothian-McLean, we’re sure The Bell will have as big an impact as our four other titles in Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham. Please encourage any Glaswegians (or Glasgowphiles) you know to sign up!

Catch up

For our weekend read, Dan travelled to Bramall Lane to speak to Sheffield United fans about the club’s on-off takeover saga, its third change of ownership in just over a decade. If Prince Abdullah were to sell to new US owners, would it help, or hurt, the Blades? You can read that piece here.

Last week we sent out two great newsletters to our 2,315 paying members. In the first, Victoria spoke to Morgan Sidle from Atelier, a new fashion outlet in Leah’s Yard, about his upbringing in Barnsley and how his clothes have been worn by some of the biggest stars in the world. And in the second, Dan spoke to members of a Sheffield gym who say the owners left them thousands of pounds out of pocket before legging it to Dubai. An extract from that second piece is below.

As you might expect, the Coburn family left the UK in a bit of a hurry. The landlord at their Wickersley home tells me that the couple only gave them three days' notice, not the six weeks that was stipulated in their lease. The landlord says as well as not paying their last month’s rent, the house was “wrecked” and needed to be deep cleaned and repainted, leaving her £1,000 out of pocket. But as they were leaving Josh and Alice didn't seem overly concerned about the mess they were leaving behind, either at their home or their gym. In a Facebook video filmed on the day they left for Dubai, the pair are shown singing “Leaving on a Jet Plane” by John Denver.

Editor’s note: This is Dan’s last week before he takes a well-earned two-week rest. Don’t worry, Victoria will be (wo)manning the ship while he’s away and we will be publishing more stories by our great team of freelance writers. Shockingly, they aren’t willing to work for free — and we can only keep the show on the road (and let Dan put his feet up) because of our beloved paying members. If you think Sheffield needs and deserves our brand of high-quality, thorough journalism, and that our staff need an occasional holiday, please join them today.

Roots and Bloom CIC flourishing at Leah’s Yard 💐

Gina’s flowers are different: each one is grown on her flower farm in Sheffield or sourced from other eco-friendly British growers. The income from the non-profit business, Roots & Bloom CIC, supports people in Sheffield who are living with dementia, helping them to live more fulfilling and active lives through Horticultural Therapy sessions.

Gina has recently moved into Leah’s Yard in the city centre. “The building has such a rich history of local makers and craftspeople so it seems fitting that our florists shop will be based there,” she says. You can see the full list of creators based at Leah’s Yard here.

This is a sponsored post by Leah’s Yard.

The big picture: Posed punks 🎸

Thanks to live music photographer James Keane for letting us use this brilliant shot of post-punk band Shame playing at The Leadmill on Saturday as part of the Float Along festival. The three year old festival sees dozens of bands play at venues in the city centre including Sidney & Matilda, Corporation and Triple Point Brewery. For more about the festival, see this piece in Now Then.

The big story: £65 million black hole found in police budget 🚨

Top line: South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard has ordered an independent review after a £65 million black hole was found in the police budget. Whose fault is it and how will it impact policing in South Yorkshire?

Due diligence: South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard took on the functions of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner in May. As part of this transfer the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority’s finance team has undertaken due diligence on the OPCC accounts. 

• Police and Crime Commissioners are responsible for the local police budget, which comprises a combination of central government grants and money from the local police precept (which comes from Council Tax payers).
• However, last week Mr Coppard received a report which found that £65 million — linked to “essential equipment such as kit for officers, vehicles and IT gear and services” — has never been accounted for.

Accounting errors: The Mayor said that the black hole appears to have come from a “fundamental error in accounting practices in the office of the former PCC”. SYMCA said that investments in this kind of kit are often financed through borrowing and repaid over a longer period to help make the costs more affordable. However, the combined authority’s finance team found that since 2020, £16 million that should already have been set aside to service this debt had been left out of the budget, and that future debt payments totalling £49 million hadn’t been included either.

Blame game: In an interview with The Star, former Police and Crime Commissioner Dr Alan Billings said the OPCC had only a chief finance officer and an assistant in its finance team, and that “the main work is undertaken by the much bigger finance staff in the police”.

• South Yorkshire Police aren’t taking that lying down. A spokesperson responded by saying the error came from a “significant omission” identified in the accounting practices of the OPCC. 
• They added it was “clear within legislation South Yorkshire Police is not responsible for approving the accounts of the PCC. However we will now bear the burden of this error.”

Front-line impact: The Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police Lauren Poultney said the news didn't mean that the force was bankrupt and that staff would still be paid. However, she did say that “difficult decisions” would have to be taken and that the shortfall would “of course have impacts on the service we deliver”. Mayor Coppard said the “fundamental human error” had left him “deeply frustrated” — and failed to rule out the possibility that cuts would have to be made.

What next? The Mayor said he and officers from SYMCA had been working “at pace” with the government, external auditors and South Yorkshire Police to mitigate the impact the shortfall will have on the policing budget. He added that these conversations so far have been “positive”. However, it goes without saying that after 14 years of painful budget cuts, this is the last thing the force needed.

Do you know any more about this story? If so, please email editor@sheffieldtribune.co.uk.

The weekly Whitworth ✏️

Cartoonist James Whitworth with his take on Sheffield United’s on-off ownership saga.

This week’s weather 🌦️

Our weather forecast comes from dedicated Sheffield weather service Steel City Skies, who say it will be a very wet start, ahead of a quieter spell midweek. Unsettled weather then likely by the weekend.

Monday 🌧 A washout with outbreaks of rain through much of the day and night. Cool NE winds with highs of 14°C.

Tuesday ☁ Cloudy and damp for much of the day with a few drizzly spells. Brisk northerly winds and highs of 14°C.

Wednesday ⛅ Brightening up and becoming drier after a damp night. Sunny spells with a cool NE breeze. Highs of 16°C.

Thursday ⛅ Similarly dry and bright after a chilly start. Sunshine and variable cloud with gentle east winds. Highs again around 16°C.

Friday 🌥 Mainly dry once more with bright or sunny spells. Chance of cloud increasing later or overnight. Highs around 16°C with light winds.

Outlook: Likely turning unsettled and cooler through the weekend as low pressure brings an increasing risk of rain or showers.

To see the full forecast and keep up to date with any changes to the outlook, follow Steel City Skies on Facebook.

Coming up

This week, our paying members will receive two extra editions of The Tribune. In the first, Victoria will be asking why Sheffield Hallam University is going to be teaching a degree on the less than exciting subject of packaging. And in the second, she will be digging into a Sheffield business who have become many city drivers’ bête noire. If you’d like to read those pieces, become a paying subscriber today. It costs just £1.71 a week or a mere 24p a day (about one sip’s worth of a decent coffee) if you pay for 12 months up front.

Our media picks 🔗

‘Perilous’ future for infamous road 🛣️ The Snake Pass is one of the main road routes between Sheffield and Manchester and is still used by 30,000 vehicles every week. However, officials from Derbyshire County Council now say that it is in a “perilous state”, with constant landslides and “interventions” now needed more frequently than ever before due to increasing bouts of heavy rain caused by climate change. For our piece about the Snake from last year, click here.

It’s fifty years since the BBC rebels came to town 📻 Another excellent piece by Sheffielder looks back 50 years to the birth Radio Hallam. In the early 1970s, a change in the law led to the creation of hundreds of local radio stations, including Radio Hallam, which made a name for itself with its “rebel DJs” who had been poached from the BBC. Ironically, however, the station’s current owners chose this year to kill the name off — it is now Hits Radio South Yorkshire.

Why I paint fried eggs: My unusual art's story 🍳 A lovely piece on the BBC website about Daniel Halksworth, a Sheffield artist who paints fried eggs. Halksworth has painted all his life but started selling his work online during lockdown when shops were closed and his partner lost her job in retail. He has since sold more than 600 of them all over the world, including one which was featured in a commercial during the 2024 Super Bowl half time show.

Home of the week 🏡

Would you like to live on the most neighbourly street in Sheffield? This two bed, stone fronted end terrace on Carr Road in Walkley dates back to the mid-1800s, has been tastefully decorated and has a fabulous south facing rear garden. It turns out you can put a price on happiness — living in this cosy community will set you back £230,000 (ed: to find out why it’s the most neighbourly street in Sheffield, read our piece from earlier this month).

Tribune tips: If you want to tell us about a story or give us some information, please email editor@sheffieldtribune.co.uk. We are always happy to speak to people off the record, and we will treat your information with confidence and sensitivity.

Things to do 📆

Talk 🗨️ On Wednesday, hear artist Lubna Chowdhary discuss her work, inspiration and life as an artist, in conversation with Dr Emilia Terracciano. The event will take place within Pluriverse, Chowdhary’s current exhibition at the Graves Gallery. This will be an opportunity for Chowdhary to respond directly to the works around her and share an insight into the exhibition, with plenty of time for audience questions. The hour-long talk starts at 6pm. Suggested donation £5.

Art 🖼️ Starting this week at the Showroom Workstation is Home-Coming, an exhibition looking back at the 30 year career of street artist Bubba2000. Famous for his stencil-style illustrations of city figures including Jarvis Cocker, the exhibition will showcase never before seen works and newly painted pieces, including pieces from his ongoing "Shadow/Noir" series. The exhibition is free and no tickets are required. A public opening will be held on Thursday at 9pm.

Festival 📽️ Also starting this week is this year’s Sensoria festival of film and music. Named after a song by Cabaret Voltaire, the festival is now in its 16th year. This year’s programme includes The Light Organ, an interactive, playful artwork in the former Cole Brothers building which uses microphones to turn sounds into a sculptural array of light, and a screening of martial arts cult classic Shaolin Invincibles with a live re-score by Chipzel at the Drama Studio.

Thanks to Leah’s Yard for sponsoring this week’s edition. Find out more about Leah’s Yard here, and if you want to find out more about sponsoring a briefing, click here.