Bristol Council News: Watchdog Orders Release of Hidden Audit into Stepping Up Scheme

Published On: August 3rd, 2026

Bristol City Council has been ordered by the UK’s data watchdog to hand over a secret internal report detailing governance failures and unmonitored spending within its controversial Stepping Up diversity scheme.

The ruling from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) marks the end of a long-running battle over transparency at City Hall. Council officers had repeatedly refused to release the 2023 report under Freedom of Information (FOI) laws, claiming that publishing it would stop staff from offering “frank advice” in the future.

However, the ICO dismissed that argument as “poorly justified and unreasonable,” forcing the local authority to release the investigation in full.

The decision has triggered fresh anger among local politicians, with senior councillors now demanding that the authority’s chief executive appear before the Audit Committee to explain why the embarrassing document was kept hidden from the public, elected members, and even external auditors.

What the Hidden Report Reveals

The Stepping Up programme was originally launched to help individuals from minority backgrounds move into senior leadership roles across the city. However, the internal audit—completed in April 2023 by the council’s Chief Internal Auditor—exposes a trail of poor record-keeping and skipped procedural checks.

Key findings from the newly released investigation include:

No Formal Tenders: The contract to run the Stepping Up scheme was awarded without any competitive bidding process.
Unrecorded Support: For at least three years, council staff gave administrative support to the programme that was never officially accounted for or governed by a written contract.
Free Office Space: Further support, including workspace, was provided by council-owned firm Bristol Waste at no charge to the scheme.
Unclear Costs: Auditors admitted they could not calculate the true total cost of the programme due to missing records, off-the-books staff time, and unregistered cash transfers.

While the audit highlighted serious management blunders, previous reviews into the matter noted that no criminal wrongdoing took place.

“Hiding Information Doesn’t Make the Problem Go Away”

The handling of the report has drawn sharp criticism from Liberal Democrat councillor Nicholas Coombes, Vice Chair of the council’s Audit Committee.

Speaking on the ICO’s decision, Cllr Coombes said:

“The council is right to be embarrassed by the Stepping Up programme. Every time more information comes to light, it reflects even worse on those making decisions during the Mayoral administration.

“Hiding the information doesn’t make the problem go away—it only makes the public more suspicious. Council officers need to stop blocking Freedom of Information requests and stop arguing with the Information Commissioner.”

The row took another turn after it emerged that external auditors Grant Thornton were kept in the dark about the internal investigation when they were asked to look into the scheme’s finances in 2024, forcing them to start their own inquiry from scratch.

Audit Committee members were also denied access to the document when they requested a briefing in 2025.

“I’m shocked that council officers did not tell Grant Thornton about their internal investigation,” Cllr Coombes added. “It is incredibly frustrating that officers would not provide a report to elected members, yet the watchdog cleared the exact same document for full publication. Our officers need to re-calibrate their legal advice.”

Cllr Coombes has now formally called on Bristol City Council’s Chief Executive to attend the next Audit Committee meeting to outline how the authority plans to rebuild trust and improve transparency moving forward.

Bristol City Council Response

A spokesperson for Bristol City Council said:

“We accept the Information Commissioner’s decision regarding this Freedom of Information request and have released the internal audit report in full.

“The council takes governance and the proper use of public funds extremely seriously. The issues identified in this 2023 internal review relate to historical arrangements, and significant work has since been carried out to strengthen our procurement processes, record-keeping, and FOI compliance across all departments.”

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