The council is required to carry an audit ahead of the Continuation Ballot so that residents can view documents relating to the financial management of the organisation. LEMB has managed to delay this process, firstly by procrastinating for several months before and secondly bogging down the council in legal challenges for some six months. Now we have sight of it:

Brixton Buzz reported on the Council’s released findings:

LEMB received a ‘No Assurance’ rating, indicating essential controls are missing or ineffective and the organisation is at high risk of financial or governance failure.

• Financial instability: LEMB’s reserves were in deficit and the bank account had fallen into overdraft multiple times.

• VAT and financial reporting issues: Quarterly monitoring was absent and VAT returns were not submitted or scrutinised correctly.

• £374,000 was written off in 2023/24 as ‘gifts for residents’ despite deteriorating financial conditions.

• £19,000 in petty cash withdrawals were made between April 2024 and Feb 2025, despite policies prohibiting such spending.

• Foreign trips costing £23,659 raised doubts regarding value for money and transparency.

• Procurement failures: Missing documentation, missing approvals, and contracts awarded without adequate supporting information.

• Governance issues: Outdated or incomplete registers, missing financial oversight in minutes, and a website that had not been updated since May 2023.

• LEMB rejected the audit findings. The audit referenced an HMRC winding-up petition relating to unpaid VAT.

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