North Yorkshire opposition councillors have called for greater transparency over a decision to set aside £7m of taxpayers’ money to cover potential losses made by council-owned house builder Brierley Homes.
Members of the authority’s corporate and partnerships overview and scrutiny committee this week voted against taking further action after being asked to examine a decision by executive members to ‘note’ the provision made by officers.
The call-in request was made by Green Party councillor Kevin Foster, who said the vote meant members were prevented from examining the circumstances that led to the money being set aside for any possible losses.
Cllr Foster said residents deserved answers, adding: “We all want to see successful developments that provide homes for local people and generate returns for taxpayers.
“But if the council believes it needs to set aside £7m because there is a risk loans may not be repaid in full, then residents deserve to know why, how that figure was reached and what is being done to protect taxpayers’ money.”
Cllr Foster said that group leaders had received an invitation shortly before the meeting to discuss Brierley Homes — which recently reported a £7.5m loss for 2025/26 — in private.
He said: “On the one hand, councillors were told they could not explore the reasons behind this provision in public.
“On the other, group leaders were being invited to discuss the matter behind closed doors. Residents will understandably wonder why.”
Leader of the opposition, Liberal Democrat councillor Peter Lacey, backed calls for greater transparency.
He said: “Every time Brierley Homes comes up, executive members seem to become very nervous, particularly those responsible for the council’s finances. It’s a fair question to ask why.
“The Conservatives have hidden behind procedure to limit open discussion. When scrutiny committees are being prevented from scrutinising, alarm bells should be ringing.”
Reform UK councillor Tim Grogan also voiced concerns about the handling of the discussion.
He said: “I was surprised that some of the committee were not allowed to ventilate their feelings about Brierley Homes. I noted a sensitivity about the subject that was unsettling. I had the distinct feeling of ‘closing ranks’.”
In response, Councillor Gareth Dadd, deputy leader of the Conservative-controlled authority and executive member for resources, said the call-in had been of the executive’s decision to ‘note’ that £7m had been earmarked in case Brierley Homes was still recording a loss in the future.
He added: “The options available to us as a committee were to refer that note of the executive to full council, and let them either say we note that you’ve noted it, or we ask you not to note it, or for no further action — it was an absolute farce.”
The councillor said it was not possible to discuss sensitive commercial activities in public, but a members’ briefing would be held in private for councillors to discuss the Brierley Group, while councillors could also attend the regular shareholders’ meetings.
He added: “It’s out there that Brierley Homes hasn’t performed as we would have expected it to.
“But what I did say to Cllr Foster was that I didn’t hear any call-ins over the £60m worth of benefits over the last five years of our Brierley group of companies, even with Brierley Homes in the pan.
“We’ve got a problem and we’ve got a challenge with Brierley Homes, we accept that, but £60m of benefit to the authority from the Brierley Group is not a bad record.”
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