AN investigation which was commissioned when a £65m discrepancy was uncovered in South Yorkshire Police’s budget has blasted former officers in charge for lacking ‘technical knowledge’.

The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) this week published the findings of an independent review it launched into historic accounting and budgetary issues within the former Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC), then controlled by Dr Alan Billings.

The review concluded that historic accounting and budgetary errors arose from a misinterpretation of statutory accounting guidance, compounded by weaknesses in financial governance and scrutiny arrangements over a number of years.

It found that £65m of capital expenditure financed through borrowing was not reflected in accounting and budgetary provisions.

SYMCA identified that £16m of charges which should have been made to allow for the debt’s repayment had been missed - and that future payments of £49m were not included in future spending projections.

The report, compiled by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountability, said: “On assuming responsibility, SYMCA identified that between 2018/19 and 2023/24 the former OPCC had arranged the financing of approximately £65m in capital investment through borrowing.

“This review represents an important step in understanding how such a serious financial miscalculation could have taken place within the former OPCC and remained undetected for several years.

“By thoroughly investigating past failures, it aims to provide clarity on where accountability lies, as well as offer valuable lessons for improving financial governance in the future.

“Given the scale of the financial shortfall and its implications for policing budgets, it is hoped that this review will play a crucial role in ensuring transparency and restoring confidence in financial oversight within the region’s policing.

“This arose not solely from a single policy or accounting failure but from broader weaknesses in financial governance, particularly in the co-ordination of responsibilities, technical knowledge and the absence of effective internal challenge.”

South Yorkshire Police has been able to set balanced budgets for 2025/26 and 2026/27, as well as across the medium term, according to SYMCA and residents have been assured that the blackhole won’t negatively impact services.

Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Kilvinder Vigurs, added: “I welcome the independent review and the clarity it provides on these historic issues.

“It is clear that the issues arose out of accounting and budgetary errors, compounded by weaknesses in financial governance.

“It’s important to reiterate that the issues did not arise out of misappropriation or misuse of police funds.

“Strengthened governance arrangements and robust controls are now in place, and the lessons from the review have been learned.

“Our focus now is on the future: supporting South Yorkshire Police to keep people safe, maintaining public confidence in policing, and ensuring policing in our region remains financially sustainable for the long-term.”

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PREVIOUS Police and Crime Commissioner Dr Alan Billings - who held the post for a decade - blasted the report’s findings.

He said he believes the findings should be withdrawn and told the Chronicle investigators did not speak to him during the review.

“I question why CIPFA was asked to undertake this review since it is a membership organisation, not a firm of auditors or accountants.

“It was, therefore, investigating its own members - a clear conflict of interest,” he added.

“The crux of this issue is a difference of professional judgement between former finance officers of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, and the incoming finance officers of the mayor.

“It is not about ‘accounting errors’ but a disagreement about deliberate and permissible choices which the report at one point acknowledges.

“My officers chose to finance £65m of capital spending - items such as vehicles, IT and buildings - from existing funds rather than borrow from external lenders.

“This saved thousands of pounds in interest charges and enabled the police to get on with their job.

“This was fully understood by the police and the auditors at the time and over subsequent years, and it is why the auditors signed off the finances year on year.

“This has been a protracted, costly and unnecessary exercise that could have been resolved by conversations with appropriate people.

“It has hung unfairly for almost two years over me and my most recent former finance officers, who were not in post at the time of the original decision.

“It now serves little purpose and should be withdrawn.”