Milford Haven council defers audit amid missing paperwork
Councillors postponed the annual audit after the Auditor General flagged incomplete documents, prompting calls for clarification from town officials.
Milford Haven Town Council has postponed consideration of its annual audit after the Auditor General for Wales criticised the authority for not supplying a complete pack of information. The issue was raised at a full council meeting on Monday 12 October when members examined the annual return for the financial year ending 31 March 2026.
A councillor read aloud a passage from the Auditor General’s report dated 25 September, which stated: “The council did not provide a complete pack of information”. The remark centred on a detailed internal audit report dated 3 June 2026, which the external auditor claimed had not been supplied despite repeated requests.
The councillor questioned why the same‑dated report appeared in the papers circulated to members yet was said to be missing from Audit Wales’ file. He also highlighted an explanatory note that financial regulations and internal audit documentation had been sent on 22 July, adding to the apparent contradiction.
“I think it’s important that we as a council understand what’s happened in this scenario,” he told colleagues, noting that Town Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer Barbara Fitzgerald was on annual leave. With Fitzgerald unavailable, councillors agreed to defer any decision on the audit until she returned, a motion that passed unanimously.
Deputy Mayor Councillor Kathy Gray chaired the meeting and oversaw the unanimous vote to postpone the audit discussion. The debate follows earlier scrutiny of the council’s internal audit arrangements earlier in the year.
Minutes from the full council meeting on 8 June record that members received the 2025‑26 audit report and signed the accompanying paperwork. At that same meeting, internal auditor Mr Eynon wrote to the council indicating he did not wish to continue in the role.
While the June meeting confirmed internal receipt of the audit, it does not prove that every document subsequently requested by Audit Wales was forwarded to the external auditor. The Auditor General’s opinion, issued on 25 September, warned that failure to supply complete information could affect future compliance with information requests.
The council has not yet clarified whether the detailed internal audit report dated 3 June was eventually provided to Audit Wales. Nor has it explained whether the omission resulted from an administrative error or a deeper issue with record‑keeping.
Council officials have pledged to supply the full audit opinion and a response to the Auditor General’s observations once the town clerk returns. The pending clarification comes as the council also faces separate questions about funding for this summer’s Founders’ Day event, though the two matters are unrelated.
Residents and local watchdog groups have called for transparency, urging the authority to publish the complete audit package for public scrutiny. The Pembrokeshire Herald will seek further comment from Milford Haven Town Council and will monitor the council’s actions to resolve the paperwork discrepancy.
Until the town clerk’s return, the audit remains on hold, leaving the council’s financial oversight for the year to March 2026 in a state of uncertainty. The council has scheduled a follow‑up meeting for early November to review the auditor’s findings once the missing documents are located.