BCP Council’s ongoing investigation into Future Places Ltd has already found serious failures. These issues have to do with the company’s managerial practices and chief executive officer selection. Drew Mellor, Phil Broadhead and Graham Farrant incorporated Future Places Ltd in 2021. The company’s financial practices and overall transparency have recently come under fire.
Gail Mayhew is now Managing Director of Future Places Ltd. She has never had to compete in a selection process. The position wasn’t posted publicly, and she was the only candidate interviewed. Even worse, this story asks more general questions about whether Future Places can be trusted to hire on merit. Just five days after her appointment in July, Mayhew started hiring her own team—and offering them salaries far exceeding the normal pay scale. She suggested the appointment of a Chief Operating Officer on £145,000 a year and proposed an Engagement Officer at a cost of £100,000 per year.
Concerns have been raised about shady financial dealings connected to Mayhew and her consulting company, Smart Growth Associates. Her company Sea Change received £18,000 in consultancy fees from BCP, according to reports. They billed the taxpayers’ council hundreds of pounds for their accommodation costs. These invoices even included receipts from the Royal Bath Hotel, train fares and advice regarding legal representation on invoices submitted.
Drew Mellor, the former chief of BCP Council, was instrumental in the departure that seeded Future Places Ltd. Supposedly, he promised to create a new £150,000-per-annum leadership role for his favoured candidate. The inquiry into Future Places Ltd raises red flags regarding high-level appointments as well as financial handling. Consider that the company awarded more than £110,000 in bonuses to its directors. Further, it rented office space valued at over £70,000 from a firm co-directed by Mellor.
Related investigations continue. Sara Armstrong, member of the council’s Audit and Governance Committee, is campaigning for a full and independent investigation into Future Places Ltd.’s activities. Even amidst public outcry and demand for accountability, the council doubled down.
“It is inappropriate to comment on the detail when the investigation is not yet complete.” – The council
BCP HR clued us into Mayhew’s appointment process. They indicated that she “had already been offered the job by Drew Mellor,” suggesting that the recruitment process lacked competitiveness. Furthermore, they stated that “there will have to be a form of selection to justify the offer and position but I believe that we can make it safe for scrutiny purposes.”
In mid-October, the second installment of our case study on Future Places Ltd. will be released and presented. This report should shed further light on these systemic failures and help point the way toward a better and safer future for complete care the company builds upon this controversy.
