SYMCA PUBLISHES FINDINGS OF AN INDEPENDENT REVIEW INTO HISTORIC ACCOUNTING AND BUDGETARY ISSUES AT FORMER OPCC

Published 20 July 2026 at 11:34am

The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) has published the findings of an independent review it commissioned into historic accounting and budgetary issues within the former Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC). 

SYMCA commissioned the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) review in September 2024 after finance officers identified accounting and budgetary issues during due diligence work following the transfer of Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) responsibilities to the Mayor of South Yorkshire in May 2024. 

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 an incorrect assumption relating to the application of Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) became embedded in routine practice and went unchallenged, resulting in around  65 million of capital expenditure financed through borrowing not being reflected in accounting and budgetary provisions.  

There was no misappropriation or misuse of police funds.  65m was spent on essential equipment such as equipment for officers, vehicles, IT infrastructure and investment into the Police estate.  Investment of this kind, called capital spending, is often financed through borrowing and repaid over a longer period to help make the costs more affordable but no accounting or budgetary provision had been made for repayment of this debt.   

Following identification of the issues, SYMCA corrected the accounting treatment, reflected the expenditure in financial planning and strengthened governance, assurance and scrutiny arrangements. 

Kilvinder Vigurs, South Yorkshire Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, said:

"I welcome CIPFA's independent review and the clarity it provides on these historic issues. 

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

Clearer roles, responsibilities and controls are now in place following the transfer of PCC functions to SYMCA, alongside improved technical oversight of complex statutory accounting requirements. Governance, audit and risk arrangements have also been strengthened to support greater challenge, escalation and professional scrutiny. 

South Yorkshire Police has been able to set balanced budgets for 2025/26 and 2026/27, as well as across the medium term. 

The CIPFA report is available on the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority website.