Douglas Spinks
Long-serving Deputy CEO who worked alongside Ray Morgan for decades and supported the council's commercial borrowing strategy. Left the council in 2021 after 37 years of service.
Key Actions
- Supported the commercial borrowing programme throughout his tenure
- Oversaw commercial operations alongside Ray Morgan
- Departed the council in March 2021, alongside Morgan and Bryant, before full scrutiny began
- Part of the senior leadership team that the Grant Thornton report found had created a culture discouraging challenge
Details
Douglas Spinks served as Deputy Chief Executive of Woking Borough Council for 37 years, working alongside CEO Ray Morgan throughout the entirety of the commercial borrowing programme.
As Deputy CEO, Spinks oversaw many of the council's operational and commercial activities. He supported Morgan's strategy of using PWLB borrowing to fund commercial ventures through the Thameswey Group and other investments.
Spinks was involved in the oversight of the council's commercial operations, including the relationships with Thameswey subsidiaries and other council-funded ventures.
He retired in March 2021 alongside Ray Morgan and Peter Bryant. Their simultaneous departures removed the leadership team that had been in place throughout the period of reckless borrowing.
The Grant Thornton Public Interest Report identified a culture of insufficient challenge within the senior officer team, of which Spinks was a key member for nearly four decades.
Sources
- Grant Thornton Public Interest Report— Grant Thornton / Woking Borough Council
- Commissioners' Publications— Woking Borough Council / Government Commissioners