No. You could not make this up.

Email 1

Email 1. Sent on 9th July 2026

———- Forwarded message ———
From: Paul Cardin
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 2026 at 08:07
Subject: corrected version – FORMAL NOTICE OF INSPECTION: STATUTORY REQUEST FOR ACCOUNTS AND SUPPORTING RECORDS
To: danielkirwan@wirral.gov.uk danielkirwan@wirral.gov.uk, matthewbennett@wirral.gov.uk, Fin_publicinspection@wirral.gov.uk
Cc: Basnett, Paula (Councillor) paulabasnett@wirral.gov.uk

For the attention of the Section 151 Officer / Executive Director of Finance / Shaun Allen

Dear Section 151 Officer / Executive Director of Finance / Shaun Allen,

I am writing to explicitly set out my statutory inspection request.
To ensure a proportionate approach that places no unnecessary administrative burden on your team, please consider my targeted request set out below.
This request focuses exclusively on core accounting ledgers and active contracts, removing any need for broad manual corporate searches.

Please process the following request under Section 26 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014:
As a local government elector for the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, I am writing to exercise my explicit statutory right under Section 26 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 to inspect the Council’s accounting records and related documents during the current 30-working-day public rights window.

To ensure this request is strictly proportionate, manageable, and legally compliant with the definitions upheld in Moss v Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (2021), I am limiting my inspection exclusively to financial ledger records and active contracts related to specific asset transactions.
Please provide digital access to, or an inspection appointment for, the following specific items:

The Income Ledgers: All ledger entries recording rental income, wayleave fees, or site-share revenue received by Wirral Council from telecommunications operators during the 2025/2026 financial year.

The Associated Contracts: Copies of the underlying lease agreements, pavement permits, or wayleave contracts corresponding directly to those 2025/2026 telecommunications income streams (protected as inspectable “contracts” and “deeds” under Section 26(1) of the Act).

The Insurance Expenditure Records: The Council’s active Corporate Public Liability Insurance policy schedule for the 2025/2026 financial year, alongside the specific ledger receipt/voucher confirming the premium payment made to the insurer.

As these requests pertain directly to financial transaction ledgers, active revenue contracts, and expenditure vouchers, they sit firmly within the statutory scope of Section 26. They do not require broad manual narrative searches, thereby removing any grounds for rejection based on administrative burden.

Please confirm within the next 48 hours when these files will be made available for my inspection so that I may review them prior to the close of the statutory window.

I look forward to your swift response with the digital files and inspection dates,

Yours faithfully,
Paul Cardin

Wallasey
Merseyside

Response 1

The following inadequate response arrived four days later from officer Shaun Allen on 13th July 2026:

———- Forwarded message ———
From: FIN_PublicInspection, <Fin_publicinspection@wirral.gov.uk>
Date: Mon, 13 Jul 2026 at 09:51
Subject: RE: *corrected version* – FORMAL NOTICE OF INSPECTION: STATUTORY REQUEST FOR ACCOUNTS AND SUPPORTING RECORDS
To: Paul Cardin

Good morning, Mr Cardin,

Thank you for your enquiry. We will look into your request, it will take some time to investigate and collate, but we will aim to get the details to you by the end of July. I will advise if there is any delay beyond that date.

Many thanks,

Shaun

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Email 2

Email 2. Sent on 13th July 2026

———- Forwarded message ———
From: Paul Cardin
Date: Mon, 13 Jul 2026 at 21:02
Subject: Public Notice of Inspection
To: Fin_publicinspection@wirral.gov.uk
Cc: matthewbennett@wirral.gov.uk, danielkirwan@wirral.gov.uk danielkirwan@wirral.gov.uk, Hall, Brenda (Councillor) brendahall@wirral.gov.uk, Shaw, Vicki L. (Wallasey Town Hall) vickishaw@wirral.gov.uk, Basnett, Paula (Councillor) paulabasnett@wirral.gov.uk, sarah.l.ironmonger@uk.gt.com

Dear Mr Allen,

Thank you for your response, however, aiming to respond to me at a later date is inadequate.

While I appreciate you looking into this matter, your proposal to delay production of these records until the end of July is legally unacceptable. It would effectively deny me my statutory rights.

The Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 mandates that the inspection of accounting records must take place during the strict 30-working-day public rights window. Were you to defer my access until after this window has closed it would prevent me from exercising my right to raise formal objections with the local auditor.

Given the severe compliance risks associated with blocking or delaying statutory access, I have copied key senior officers and oversight figures into this correspondence for the reasons set out below:

• The External Auditor: Copied so they are immediately aware that the Council’s proposed timeline prevents a local elector from reviewing records within the lawful inspection window, directly disrupting the statutory audit process.

• The Chief Executive (Head of Paid Service): Copied to ensure executive visibility over an operational delay that exposes the local authority to legal non-compliance.

• The Monitoring Officer: Copied in fulfillment of their statutory duty under Section 5 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 to investigate and halt any acts or omissions by the Council that risk breaking the law.

• The Chair of the Audit and Risk Management Committee: Copied to ensure robust political and governance oversight regarding the obstruction of statutory transparency measures.

• The Leader of the Council: Copied so that the political leadership is fully apprised of executive actions that undermine public accountability.

As noted in my initial request, the scope of this inquiry has been intentionally restricted to transaction ledgers, specific active contracts, and an insurance voucher. As established in Moss v Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (2021), administrative convenience or internal resource pressure cannot be used to defeat a statutory right of inspection.

Please re-evaluate this timeline immediately to ensure Wirral Council remains compliant with its statutory duties.

I require written confirmation within the next 24 hours of either a digital release date or an inspection appointment that falls safely within the current public rights window.

In year 2015/16 I successfully halted and froze Wirral Council’s accounts in the area of controversial £multi-million LOBO loans. Given my personal history, your current response could very well be interpreted as unfair, targeted discrimination,

Yours sincerely,

Paul Cardin
about.me/paul.cardin

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Email 3

Email 3. Sent to Grant Thornton’s auditor on 19th July 2026

———- Forwarded message ———
From: Paul Cardin
Date: Sun, 19 Jul 2026 at 08:22
Subject: Obstruction and delay over statutory accounts inspection
To: sarah.l.ironmonger@uk.gt.com
Cc: matthewbennett@wirral.gov.uk, Basnett, Paula (Councillor) paulabasnett@wirral.gov.uk

Dear Ms Ironmonger,

I am writing to you in your capacity as the appointed external auditor for Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council under the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014.

In the event I have the wrong person, please pass this message urgently to the Grant Thornton accountant dealing with Wirral Council.

I am a local elector for the Wirral area. I am writing to formally report that Wirral Council is currently obstructing and delaying my statutory right to inspect its accounts and accounting documents under Section 26 of the Act.

The Council published its Public Notice of Inspection for the 2025/26 accounts, establishing a strict 30-working-day window for public scrutiny. On 9th July 2026 (see attached email 1), which falls strictly within this active window, I submitted a formal request to the Council to inspect specific background documents, including:

1. The Income Ledgers: All ledger entries recording rental income, wayleave fees, or site-share revenue received by Wirral Council from telecommunications operators during the 2025/2026 financial year.
2. The Associated Contracts: Copies of the underlying lease agreements, pavement permits, or wayleave contracts corresponding directly to those 2025/2026 telecommunications income streams (protected as inspectable "contracts" and "deeds" under Section 26(1) of the Act).
3. The Insurance Expenditure Records: The Council's active Corporate Public Liability Insurance policy schedule for the 2025/2026 financial year, alongside the specific ledger receipt/voucher confirming the premium payment made to the insurer.

To date, the Council has failed to provide access, offering only delays and vague timelines.
I have emailed the Council on 9th July 2026 (see attached email 1) and 13th July 2026 (see attached email 2) in an attempt to obtain these documents yet I am faced with delays or non responses (see below).

As the National Audit Office (NAO) guidance clarifies, this 30-day window is a rigid statutory timeframe that you, as the auditor, have no legal power to extend. By delaying their response, Wirral Council is effectively running down the clock on my inspection period. This prevents me from identifying potential errors, checking value-for-money arrangements, or exercising my subsequent right under Section 27 to frame precise questions or lodge formal objections with you.

Given the severe financial stress and governance concerns highlighted in your recent Auditor’s Annual Report for Wirral Council, transparency during this public rights window is more critical than ever.
I urgently request that your audit team contacts the Director of Finance (S151 Officer) at Wirral Council to remind them of their mandatory duties under the Accounts and Audit Regulations. The Council must be instructed to provide immediate, unhindered access to the requested materials before my statutory window expires.

I have attached a full log of my correspondence with the Council’s finance team (emails 1 and 2) for your immediate review.

I have also copied this email to the council leader and CEO in an attempt to encourage them to resolve the errant conduct of junior officers under their charge,

Yours sincerely,

Paul Cardin
about.me/paul.cardin

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Despite my request for a response by 14th July, six further days have elapsed with no response. I’ve notified the auditor, copied the above prompting email to Wirral Council today – 19th July – and I’m still no further forward. That’s a total of 10 days lost…

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