Welcome to Yorkshire will NOT publish promises made to unlock £320,000 of taxpayers’ money

WELCOME TO Yorkshire has refused to reveal details of pledges made to officials at a meeting on Thursday which unlocked £320,000 of taxpayers’ money.
Welcome to Yorkshire is refusing to reveal details of its accountability reforms in the wake of Sir Gary Verity's resignation.Welcome to Yorkshire is refusing to reveal details of its accountability reforms in the wake of Sir Gary Verity's resignation.
Welcome to Yorkshire is refusing to reveal details of its accountability reforms in the wake of Sir Gary Verity's resignation.

West and North Yorkshire councillors were given assurances in a letter from the tourism body’s finance director ahead of signing off their next tranche of funding.

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The meeting in Leeds was told that the finance director of Welcome to Yorkshire had provided “reassurances around the organisation.”

Sir Gary Verity is the former chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire.Sir Gary Verity is the former chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire.
Sir Gary Verity is the former chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire.

It also offered “greater accountability in future”.

Welcome to Yorkshire receives about half of its £4m a year budget from local authorities and some councils have withheld funding until inquiries into former chief executive Sir Gary Verity’s resignation, and governance arrangements, have been published.

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When asked to do so by this newspaper, a spokeswoman refused to disclose the contents of the letter. “Welcome to Yorkshire acknowledges there will be greater accountability and oversight of the monies required in the future and will look to achieve this in a transparent and flexible way through a formal funding agreement,” she said.

“Quarterly review meetings will take place along with progress reports and financial updates to appropriate local authority partners.”

She added: “We’re not an organisation that is subject to Freedom of Information.” WTY said that questions about compliance were a matter for the Information Commissioner.