Council Grant Payments to Local Charity Spark Questions Over Alleged Conflict of Interest...

Thousands of pounds in council grants paid to charity tied to former Labour leader Brenda Harrison, who also serves as its director and trustee, sparking questions over alleged conflicts of interest...

22nd October 2025

Concerns have emerged over possible conflicts of interest, involving former Hartlepool Borough Council leader Brenda Harrison, following revelations that substantial grant payments have been paid to a local charity that she's been directly linked to during her time in office.

Labour Councilor Brenda Harrison, who was appointed council leader in May 2024, stood down as leader of Hartlepool Borough Council back in September 2025 — months earlier than expected. It's since been discovered she's listed as the director and trustee of Hartlepool Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) — the same organisation that's received a series of grant payments from Hartlepool Borough Council over the past year.

Council expenditure records show payments ranging from £5,000 to £44,000, with the largest payment said to have been made by Hartlepool Borough Council as a grant payment for the procurement of 'office furniture', suggesting the charity has financially benefited from significant council funding while Ms Harrison held the most senior political role in the local council which in 2023 was branded an authority with no public confidence. .

All of the most recent payments were issued to the charity between April & June this year, whilst Ms Harrison was still the leader of Hartlepool Borough Council

Critics have pointed out that this raises serious concerns about transparency and governance, questioning whether proper declarations of interest were made and whether it was appropriate for the council to approve significant grant payments to an organisation led by its own political figurehead.

While the council has not yet issued a public statement addressing the payments, some sources close to the local council suggested Ms Harrison’s sudden departure as leader of the council to be replaced with the wife of the now Labour Party MP for Hartlepool Pamela Hargreaves (Brash) may not have been entirely voluntary. It's understood that concerns relating to these grant payments, along with other undisclosed internal matters, prompted pressure from the local Labour Group for her resignation before the May 2026 local elections..

The Citizens Advice Bureau is a registered charity that provides free and confidential advice to residents on issues such as housing, debt, and benefits. However, the close connection between its now former council leadership and senior council figures has placed both the charity and the council under the spotlight.

The payments to the charity come as part of a Hartlepool Borough Council Exposed investigation into payments made by the local council, as its been found tens of thousands of pound's of public funds have been channeled off into other local council account, with some payments from the local public purse ending up going to local councils as far as Hampshire...