Political leaders have clashed over transparency and alleged “contempt” for scrutiny at the Tees Valley Combined Authority.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen was accused of attending only one scrutiny panel meeting in three years - but he has rejected criticism from Labour councillors as "laughable" mud-slinging.

Debate over the combined authority and the Teesworks regeneration scheme was sparked by a question at a Darlington Borough Council meeting.

Councillor Ian Haszeldine asked council leader and Conservative group leader Cllr Jonathan Dulston for his view "on the TVA and the private ownership deals that Mr Houchen has done over the SSI site and gifted them 90% of that site behind closed doors without documentation or without transparency".

Read more: Mazars audit says 'no weaknesses' in South Tees Development Group plans

He also referred to the Teesside Airport site, saying: “He hasn’t been transparent about the dealings behind it, and how much money it’s actually cost, and how much of the devolution money that he’s used that was originally for the five authorities over 30 years, £15m.”

He said to Cllr Dulston: “You represent this borough on the Tees Valley Combined Authority, yet you’ve never once come back here and reported about the financial interests of this borough within that authority.

“I’m just asking for your opinion, what you think about the handing over of that, about the financial implications of that, and what that could mean or should mean for the people of Darlington.

“The people of Darlington have a right to know and have transparency.”

Read more: £482million and 20,000 jobs - There's nothing to hide, says Ben Houchen

Cllr Dulston replied: “Your leader has the opportunity to scrutinise the Mayor. That’s the forum to do it, and I would hope that opposition councillors continue to hold the Mayor to account on every decision he makes.

“The National Audit Office has independently assessed the information. All of the documents that you require are online. In terms of transparency, there it is.

“I’ll continue to do my bit, and I am fully aware of the transparency issues you raise, and so is the Mayor.

“The issue of transparency with the SSI site was put to bed when the Mayor released those documents and it was independently audited.”

Read more: Teesworks - Ben Houchen accused of 'selling people down the river'

Labour group leader Cllr Stephen Harker said: “In terms of scrutinising the Mayor of the Tees Valley, it’s actually very difficult to do.

“I’ve sat on the combined authority scrutiny panel for three years. The Mayor has attended one meeting in three years.

“He holds that scrutiny committee in utter contempt. He’s been asked time and time again to attend those meetings and he has attended once.”

Green group leader Cllr Matthew Snedker said he was “deeply concerned” about a “40% share giveaway” at Teesworks.

He questioned Mr Houchen’s assertion that the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the Treasury had “crawled all over” the matter and the National Audit Office had given a “full clean bill of health” after a thorough review.

The Northern Echo: Cllr Matthew Snedker. Picture: Gareth Lightfoot.Cllr Matthew Snedker. Picture: Gareth Lightfoot.

He said: “The Treasury could find no record of conducting any review into Teesworks Ltd.

“Whitehall had not examined the arrangements, let alone crawled all over them.

“As for the NAO, they confirmed they performed no official review of Teesworks Ltd."

He said "inaccurate claims" had been made and people "deserve a more honest representation of the goings-on at Teesworks Ltd".

Read more: Councillors agree to give Teesside Airport another £20m

Cllr Dulston said: “All of the documents relating to these transactions are available for the public to view."

Mayor Houchen responded: “It’s laughable the comments raised by Cllr Harker. At the most recent overview and scrutiny committee I had to spend nearly half an hour answering questions that were in meeting papers he clearly couldn’t be bothered to read.

“He had unrestricted access to me at the meeting and I answered everything he wanted to know. I am unsure how I could be more transparent.

"But then again they are not interested in the answers, instead they waste time slinging mud around for political gain while never offering an alternative or ideas.

“It’s easy to band around lines of a lack of transparency - it is just a dishonest way for Labour politicians to say that they don’t understand or read the documents they are presented with.

"If they don’t understand the information they have access to and are provided with then they’re probably in the wrong role and should step aside for more capable people to represent the interests of Darlington.

The Northern Echo: Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen. Picture: Sarah Caldecott.Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen. Picture: Sarah Caldecott. (Image: Sarah Caldecott, Newsquest)

“In the meantime, I’ll continue to work tirelessly to secure investment and create jobs for local people, from saving our airport airport from closure, bringing the Treasury to Darlington and redeveloping Darlington Station.

"I’d suggest Cllr Haszeldine and Cllr Harker open their eyes and look what’s happening in the town they are meant to represent.”

He said a full business case was published and approved unanimously on Teesside Airport and all accounts were published on Companies House.

He pointed to auditors Mazars' findings which identified "no weaknesses or risk of weaknesses" in Teesworks’ value for money arrangements.

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