The West of England Combined Authority (WECA) admitted to breaching its own procurement rules in engaging two consultants with prior ties to Bristol City Council, according to WECA’s chief executive Stephen Peacock.
Speaking at a scrutiny committee meeting on July 14, 2024, Peacock revealed that the process used to hire these consultants last year did not comply with WECA’s internal procurement standards, though it did not violate public procurement law. “It did fall short of our own internal standards,” he acknowledged.
Peacock, who assumed the role of WECA CEO in June 2024 after five years at Bristol City Council—including 18 months as its CEO—defended the decision to hire these individuals. He noted their “specific relevant track records” made them the right choice at a critical time.
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When WECA’s newly appointed monitoring officer flagged the non-compliant procurement earlier this year, Peacock instructed officials to rectify the situation. This resulted in the regularization of one consultant’s status, while the other consultant’s engagement concluded as originally planned. Notably, the two senior officers responsible for the flawed procurement process have since left WECA.
WECA allocated £150,000 to hire Kevin Slocombe of Cives Consultancy from July 2024 to March 2025. Slocombe formerly served as head of office for Bristol’s ex-mayor, Marvin Rees. Since May 2025, Slocombe has been consulting for Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner Clare Moody, who is now set to appoint him deputy police and crime commissioner, with his confirmation hearing scheduled for next week.
The other consultant, understood to be Nicki Beardmore of Latitude 83 Ltd, was engaged from July 2024 through June 2025 at a cost of £118,200. Beardmore previously held the position of highest-paid interim officer at Bristol City Council. In 2021, the council compensated her contractor services with £218,005 when she directed communications for the Clean Air Zone initiative.
Peacock emphasized that bringing in specialist consultants was essential to address two key organisational challenges: enhancing communications—which were previously dysfunctional—and improving overall operations following a best value notice.
This notice, issued by the government in March 2024, cited concerns including strained professional relationships between then Metro Mayor Dan Norris and local council leaders. By March 2025, the government expressed reassurance over improvements and opted not to reissue the notice, just two months before Mayor Dan Norris was succeeded by incumbent Mayor Dan Godwin.
The scrutiny committee hearing also included public input from Suzanne Audrey, who highlighted unanswered freedom of information requests regarding the £150,000 spent on Cives Consultancy. Audrey questioned the procurement process, noting that while the contract reportedly fell below public contract thresholds, internal procurement rules were still expected to be followed. “As far as I can tell, it doesn’t mean there has to be no procurement regulations followed at all,” she said.
Former Metro Mayor Dan Norris, arrested in April 2025 on multiple serious allegations—including sexual offences and misconduct—remains under police investigation but has not been charged. Norris did not run in the 2025 mayoral election, instead serving as MP for North East Somerset and Hanham. Following his arrest, the Labour Party suspended him, though the Labour whip Chris Elmore has cast Norris’ proxy parliamentary vote during his bannishment from the estate.