{"id":927677,"date":"2026-04-30T03:04:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T03:04:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/927677\/"},"modified":"2026-04-30T03:04:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T03:04:17","slug":"salford-council-is-investigating-its-own-housing-company-but-mayor-paul-dennett-doesnt-want-councillors-to-talk-about-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/927677\/","title":{"rendered":"Salford council is investigating its own housing company – but Mayor Paul Dennett doesn’t want councillors to talk about it"},"content":{"rendered":"

Salford council is investigating its own housing company after \u2018concerns\u2019 were raised during financial checks.<\/p>\n

D\u00e9rive, a development firm wholly owned by the council, was set up in 2017 and has handled more than \u00a310m of public money since then.<\/p>\n

The Manchester Evening News understands Salford<\/a> council\u2019s investigation is looking into whether any financial mismanagement or misconduct has taken place.<\/p>\n

The probe comes after council officers reportedly spotted irregularities in the accounts after requesting information from the firm. This included concerns about accuracy and completeness of record keeping.<\/p>\n

Multiple senior figures have resigned from leadership roles at D\u00e9rive since February, with five directors and one secretary stepping down according to public records on Companies House.<\/p>\n

D\u00e9rive is a month overdue in submitting its annual accounts.<\/p>\n

A row has broken out at the town hall over the situation, with one senior councillor calling it \u2018disgraceful\u2019 that elected members in the city \u2018haven\u2019t been updated\u2019 on the matter.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is being hidden? D\u00e9rive is a very important arm of the council delivering much-needed affordable housing, if something untoward has happened councillors should know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other councillors contacted by the MEN also confirmed they had not been informed about what was happening at D\u00e9rive.<\/p>\n

Salford mayor Paul Dennett sent an email to councillors in Salford about the situation today (April 29), claiming \u2018nothing is being hidden\u2019 and telling them not to speak to the Manchester Evening News.<\/p>\n

In the email, which has been seen by the MEN, Mr Dennett said: \u201cCurrently formal investigations are underway involving third party professional support, pertaining to matters of governance, regulatory compliance, finance & accountancy, audit.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce these initial formal investigations are concluded further next-steps will be considered, which could potentially have implications for industrial relations and people’s employment within Derive RP and Derive Group.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Dennett’s email has been shared in full below.<\/p>\n

Among those who have recently stepped down from leadership roles at D\u00e9rive include several elected councillors serving in the Labour-led council\u2019s cabinet team.<\/p>\n

The changes are all listed in public records on Companies House, the government\u2019s business portal.<\/p>\n

The three councillors who were former directors are not under investigation and are not suspected of wrongdoing.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Coun Tracy Kelly and Salford city mayor Paul Dennett on Longshaw Drive, Salford.(Image: Salford council)<\/p>\n

Councillor Tracy Kelly, who holds the housing portfolio in the council\u2019s cabinet team and serves as deputy mayor, resigned as director at D\u00e9rive in February<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It is understood councillor Kelly’s resignation was unrelated to the ongoing investigation.<\/p>\n

Former council leader John Merry also stepped down as director at D\u00e9rive in March along with Phil Cusack, who is chair of Salford council\u2019s planning committee.<\/p>\n

The three have been approached for comment, Councillor Merry declined to give a statement and there was no comment from either of the other representatives.<\/p>\n

A Salford council spokesperson commented in March on Councillor Kelly\u2019s resignation at the firm saying: \u201cMembers come on and off outside bodies frequently for various reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n

When probed on the situation at D\u00e9rive, a Salford council spokesperson said: \u201cWe can confirm that we are looking into concerns surrounding D\u00e9rive RP – a registered provider of social housing. D\u00e9rive RP is independently regulated to provide and manage affordable housing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is inappropriate to discuss more fully the nature of the concerns at this stage while we review what has happened, other than to confirm that concerns came to light during routine audit and financial checks by the council.\u201d<\/p>\n

The council said it has taken \u2018immediate steps\u2019 in response to the situation, including \u2018reviewing the governance and operational arrangements\u2019 of the company.<\/p>\n

It has also notified the Regulator of Social Housing, a government body.<\/p>\n

The Salford council spokesperson added: \u201cA number of changes have already taken place to strengthen and improve governance arrangements.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is important that the review continues and conclusions are allowed to be reached on this matter. We are committed to ensuring the review is conducted both thoroughly and quickly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to reassure residents that the D\u00e9rive Group, D\u00e9rive RP and the council remain focused on supporting tenants and providing high quality affordable housing in the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cServices to residents are not affected and continue to remain unchanged. We are committed to continuing to do all we can to help to tackle the acute need for genuinely affordable housing in Salford.\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the Regulator of Social Housing said: \u201cWe confirm that we have been notified by Derive RP and Salford City Council and are engaging with Derive on this matter. We cannot comment further on our ongoing engagement with individual landlords.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe set standards that all social landlords need to meet, including governance requirements. If we find material failures to meet our standards, we publish a regulatory judgement that sets out our conclusions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Greater Manchester Police<\/a> confirmed they are not involved in the investigation.<\/p>\n

D\u00e9rive, an \u2018arms-length company\u2019, was established in 2017 with \u00a32m of Section 106 money – cash contributions made to the council by developers – with the aim of tackling the city\u2019s more than 5,000-long housing waiting list.<\/p>\n

It delivered 119 social rent homes last year, with a further 177 planned on the site of the former Harrop Fold High School off Longshaw Drive in Little Hulton.<\/p>\n

Projects by D\u00e9rive include more than 100 social rent homes on Clifton Green, Ryall Avenue and Brassington Avenue, 43 new-build family homes on Jane Street, in Ordsall, and 25 homes transferred into their ownership on Kara Street, Langworthy.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Paul Dennett\u2019s email sent to councillors in Salford<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018Dear Colleagues \/ Elected Members,<\/p>\n

\u2018I’ve been made aware yesterday that the Manchester Evening News (M.E.N) has received the following comment from a Councillor \/ Elected Member who unfortunately hasn’t afforded myself or the Lead Member of coming to speak with us directly about any concerns they may have with Derive Group or Derive RP and have seemingly preferred to provide anonymous comment on the record to the M.E.N stating:<\/p>\n

\u2018\u201cIt\u2019s disgraceful that elected members haven\u2019t been updated on this. There must be something seriously wrong with the Lead Member for Housing, Deputy Mayor Tracy Kelly stepping down. What is being hidden? Derive is a very important arm of the council delivering much-needed affordable housing, if something untoward has happened councillors should know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018I can categorically confirm that nothing is being hidden from Councillors \/ Elected Members and as soon as I can, I will updating you all on all matters pertaining to Derive RP and Derive Group. Currently formal investigations are underway involving third party professional support, pertaining to matters of governance, regulatory compliance, finance & accountancy, audit. Once these initial formal investigations are concluded further next-steps will be considered, which could potentially have implications for industrial relations and people’s employment within Derive RP and Derive Group.<\/p>\n

\u2018Can I therefore ask that all Councillors \/ Elected Members to refrain from commenting publicly about matters pertaining to Derive Group and Derive RP, to do so could put the City \u2018Council at significant risk and to do so without knowing the facts or having any understanding of the situation is hugely irresponsible.<\/p>\n

\u2018I have asked the Chief Executive and City Solicitor \/ Monitoring Officer for the City Council to share with all Councillors \/ Elected Members what we’re able to currently (at this point in time) in connection with this matter, without predetermining or prejudicing the outcomes of the investigations underway involving third party professional support, pertaining to matters of governance, regulatory compliance, finance & accountancy, audit.<\/p>\n

\u2018Your co-operation as Councillors \/ Elected Members would be much appreciated. Moreover, the Elected Member Code of Conduct expects this of us all!\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Salford council is investigating its own housing company after \u2018concerns\u2019 were raised during financial checks. D\u00e9rive, a development…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":927678,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,4884,2465,120938,11653,1290,16,15,185318],"class_list":{"0":"post-927677","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-manchester","12":"tag-paul-dennett","13":"tag-premium","14":"tag-salford","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom","17":"tag-unmissable"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116491444114274976","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/927677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=927677"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/927677\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/927678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=927677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=927677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=927677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}