Keep digging Abi - great investigative journalism - what a tangled web of financial corruption on the back of providing housing for homeless. Labour elected politicians involved again. These people have no morals or ethics. How can Goulding remain a Councillor taking a public service salary
Another fantastic piece of investigative reporting, that’s why I subscribe to the Post. It’s horrifying but not surprising. Corruption seems to be endemic in politics especially here in Liverpool’s Labour Party. I know we shouldn’t tarnish everyone with the same brush but it’s just getting worse.
What a sad ending for an organisation that could have benefited so many people if greed hadn’t got in the way. Money truly is the root of all evil.
Excellent reporting. This is a story which I would never be aware of otherwise. The cronyism in Knowsley/Liverpool amongst the Labour ranks is abhorrent.
A great article. Let’s see more like it. Another great day for Liverpool’s Labour Party. Let’s see how quickly Emily and Lisa distance themselves from it. I’m sure MS.Cooper will have some vacated cells for a few of them.
Wow Abi! Well done on another fantastic investigative article on the abhorrent and criminal behaviour of individuals and a service purporting to do good!
And maximum respect to The Post for the integrity and balls to support investigative journalism of this calibre! Bravo! 👍🏼
You have inspired me to investigate the sitting Councillor for West Derby and common-law wife of Peter Mitchell, Colette Goulding since learning about the Charity Commission inquiry into the Big Help Project Charity.
How is it that Councillor Goulding has avoided public accountability for her role as former Assistant Chief Executive of The Big Help Project and more importantly the former Safeguarding Officer at The Big Help, when due to their abysmal safeguarding of vulnerable tenants at least 3 of their tenants committed suicide within the first 18 months of The Big Help Project operating its supported housing services?!
As a member of the public I want to know why the PUBLIC SERVICE Liverpool City Council deem it acceptable NOT to " comment on the allegations of misconduct by an ELECTED MEMBER?!!
Am I missing something here; is Liverpool City Council above The Nolan Principles of Integrity, Accountability, Honesty, Openness, Leadership, Selflessness and Objectivity?
This is disgraceful and demonstrates the same arrogance, lack of transparency and public accountability as evidenced under previous leadership of Liverpool City Council.
Councillor Colette Goulding should resign immediately as her reputation and the reputation of the local authority Liverpool City Council have been brought into disrepute by her actions.
Colette Goulding is not a fit and proper person to hold the elected office as a Councillor given her abject failings as the former Safeguarding Officer for The Big Help and former trustee.
In addition her acts as a director of affiliated companies within The Big Help Group must be criminal, insofar as the £5.5 million from The Big Help charity currently subject to an inquiry by the Charities Commission, being moved into private for profit companies of which Goulding and her partner-in-crime Peter Mitchell are sole beneficiaries?!
I hope the leader of Liverpool Liberal Dems Carl Cashman's abhorrence at Councillor Goulding's misconduct is more than hot air and he actively seeks the removal from public office of Councillor Colette Goulding!
As for the statement given by the Big Help's spokesperson regarding Peter Mitchell's apparent resignation as a trustee from the Big Help Project and involvement in the running of the same,
Mitchell continues to be the SOLE ACTIVE Director of the private Big Help Project Ltd.
There is an Insolvency case with Compulsory Liquidation pending and commencement of winding up dated 13 August 2024.
I hope that the Official Receiver Of Manchester is thorough in their investigation of assets that may be available to the Big Help's creditors...🤷🏽♀️
Interestingly the Big Help notified tenants on 28 May 2024 to start making rent payments to SVH's company bank account as they are now managing the tenancy, not The Big Help.
Social Value Housing Ltd another private company and Big Help entity has 1 active person with significant control : Big Help Green Ltd.
Guess who the only two directors of Big Help Green Ltd are/ were : Peter Mitchell and his partner Councillor Goulding...
Conveniently Councillir Goulding resigned from Big Help Green Ltd on 20th August 2024....
The FOLLOWING date of this tenancy transfer from Big Help to Social Value Housing Ltd , the beleaguered Home REIT currently in the High Court produced a document dated 29 May 2024 stating that ' Big Help tenancies will now transfer to Home REIT enabling the company to directly collect the underlying income from these properties, increasing rent collection and facilitating asset management opportunities '.
Now I understood that Home REIT is being wound down in the face of debts and the investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority?!
Hmmm...🤔
Its hard to fathom how Mitchell and Goulding can move funds from their charity IN THE MIDST OF THE CHARITY COMMISSION INQUIRY....?
And what of the unaudited accounts from 2022 which were mysteriously removed from the Charity Commission's website due to a cited " administrative error " in 2023; but that doesn't explain why the Charity Commission did not restore those unaudited accounts to their website once they 'realized their administrative error.'...
Personally I am minded to agree with Baz' comment on this article regarding the Charity Commission...
"Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive”.
Peter Mitchell and his partner Councillor Colette Goulding have blood on their hands; the suicides of the Big Help vulnerable tenants whom they had received millions of pounds to provide supported accommodation and failed to provide adequate support.
There are those who may think my following comment cruel but I care not:
If Peter Mitchell really does have terminal cancer, then I for one shall not weep.
I know the trauma of the impact of suicide on loved ones who trusted Mitchell and Goulding as Chief Executive and Asst. Chief Executive of the Big Help to care for their loved ones. They have never shown any remorse or accountability for the service failures which resulted in these tragic deaths.
If you look at Cllr Goulding's register of interests there's nothing under council contracts but there have been several payments over the years to Big Help, including £17,825 in July 2023 for rent.
Brilliant journalism and quite shocking as previous comments said. It will be interesting to see what comes out of it, if anything - I would be delighted to hear otherwise but to my knowledge none of the major corruption cases have led to anything: Ged Fitzgerald, Nick Kavanagh, Joe Anderson. I would love to hear why none of these arrests resulted in convictions…
Immensely impressed by this forensic article by Abi and co. Depressed also by the greed and corruption. There is an air of inevitability about it. I think Brecht wrote a a vitriolic poem about it.
Yet another fantastic article up to the standard we have now come to expect from the Post. It always seems to end the same way, these organisations start off, (or at least seem to) with the noblest of intentions, (in this case - intending, it would seem - to offer valuable help to the homeless, but then before too long, we end up with the now over familiar story, somebody or everybody deciding that "perhaps I/we could reward ourselves for the job we're doing" and so, what MIGHT begin as some kind of justifiable (genuinely ) expenses account, for things like personal vehicle use, or even some kind of company vehicle, then seems to lead to "well the company's in a very extremely healthy sta
(Bastard computer Mine's "goosed" at the moment so having to use my son's, which isn't really equipped for serious adult use) "Well, the finances are in a very healthy state, so why don't we pay ourselves some kind of "nominal wage?" Then somebody else chimes up with some kind of other justification, and before too much longer, the actual charity itself is little more than some kind of pipeline.
The Charity Commission, while having investigative and regulatory powers, is simply little more than a glorified advisory service, and seeing as the latest Chairman was a mate of somebody from the last Government, given their apparent "Laisses Faire" attitude toward regulation, perhaps it's no kind of shock that all this is happening.
As for the Labour Party, never mind the gang up at Dale St, the senior people from Manchester need to get involved, and if necessary, the National Party
The last government turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to the reported corruption, abuse of position and service failures to the vulnerable tenants of Peter Mitchell and Colette Goulding' s Big Help Project.
Stating that the previous government bears no responsibility is akin to saying that the national and regional Labour party have no responsibility to the people of this great city Liverpool, for the fraud and corruption of the Liverpool Labour party as illustrated in the #maxcallerreport et al!
If it makes you feel any better: the Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside, was alerted to concerns about Peter Mitchell and The Big Help's service failures to vulnerable tenants resulting in a number of tenants' suicides.
At the time Johnson claimed to have no knowledge of the Big Help. Yet less than 2 years later Kim Johnson MP was hosting an event the sponsors of which were ...The Big Help!
Brilliant journalism once there on it they don't give up while the echo is publishing the best burger in Liverpool tge post is uncovering story's like this and we all know this is not the only so called charity in this city that's using any means to get to money let's see alot more brought to book
Keep digging Abi - great investigative journalism - what a tangled web of financial corruption on the back of providing housing for homeless. Labour elected politicians involved again. These people have no morals or ethics. How can Goulding remain a Councillor taking a public service salary
Another fantastic piece of investigative reporting, that’s why I subscribe to the Post. It’s horrifying but not surprising. Corruption seems to be endemic in politics especially here in Liverpool’s Labour Party. I know we shouldn’t tarnish everyone with the same brush but it’s just getting worse.
What a sad ending for an organisation that could have benefited so many people if greed hadn’t got in the way. Money truly is the root of all evil.
Excellent reporting. This is a story which I would never be aware of otherwise. The cronyism in Knowsley/Liverpool amongst the Labour ranks is abhorrent.
A great article. Let’s see more like it. Another great day for Liverpool’s Labour Party. Let’s see how quickly Emily and Lisa distance themselves from it. I’m sure MS.Cooper will have some vacated cells for a few of them.
Wow Abi! Well done on another fantastic investigative article on the abhorrent and criminal behaviour of individuals and a service purporting to do good!
And maximum respect to The Post for the integrity and balls to support investigative journalism of this calibre! Bravo! 👍🏼
You have inspired me to investigate the sitting Councillor for West Derby and common-law wife of Peter Mitchell, Colette Goulding since learning about the Charity Commission inquiry into the Big Help Project Charity.
How is it that Councillor Goulding has avoided public accountability for her role as former Assistant Chief Executive of The Big Help Project and more importantly the former Safeguarding Officer at The Big Help, when due to their abysmal safeguarding of vulnerable tenants at least 3 of their tenants committed suicide within the first 18 months of The Big Help Project operating its supported housing services?!
As a member of the public I want to know why the PUBLIC SERVICE Liverpool City Council deem it acceptable NOT to " comment on the allegations of misconduct by an ELECTED MEMBER?!!
Am I missing something here; is Liverpool City Council above The Nolan Principles of Integrity, Accountability, Honesty, Openness, Leadership, Selflessness and Objectivity?
This is disgraceful and demonstrates the same arrogance, lack of transparency and public accountability as evidenced under previous leadership of Liverpool City Council.
Councillor Colette Goulding should resign immediately as her reputation and the reputation of the local authority Liverpool City Council have been brought into disrepute by her actions.
Colette Goulding is not a fit and proper person to hold the elected office as a Councillor given her abject failings as the former Safeguarding Officer for The Big Help and former trustee.
In addition her acts as a director of affiliated companies within The Big Help Group must be criminal, insofar as the £5.5 million from The Big Help charity currently subject to an inquiry by the Charities Commission, being moved into private for profit companies of which Goulding and her partner-in-crime Peter Mitchell are sole beneficiaries?!
I hope the leader of Liverpool Liberal Dems Carl Cashman's abhorrence at Councillor Goulding's misconduct is more than hot air and he actively seeks the removal from public office of Councillor Colette Goulding!
As for the statement given by the Big Help's spokesperson regarding Peter Mitchell's apparent resignation as a trustee from the Big Help Project and involvement in the running of the same,
Mitchell continues to be the SOLE ACTIVE Director of the private Big Help Project Ltd.
There is an Insolvency case with Compulsory Liquidation pending and commencement of winding up dated 13 August 2024.
I hope that the Official Receiver Of Manchester is thorough in their investigation of assets that may be available to the Big Help's creditors...🤷🏽♀️
Interestingly the Big Help notified tenants on 28 May 2024 to start making rent payments to SVH's company bank account as they are now managing the tenancy, not The Big Help.
Social Value Housing Ltd another private company and Big Help entity has 1 active person with significant control : Big Help Green Ltd.
Guess who the only two directors of Big Help Green Ltd are/ were : Peter Mitchell and his partner Councillor Goulding...
Conveniently Councillir Goulding resigned from Big Help Green Ltd on 20th August 2024....
The FOLLOWING date of this tenancy transfer from Big Help to Social Value Housing Ltd , the beleaguered Home REIT currently in the High Court produced a document dated 29 May 2024 stating that ' Big Help tenancies will now transfer to Home REIT enabling the company to directly collect the underlying income from these properties, increasing rent collection and facilitating asset management opportunities '.
Now I understood that Home REIT is being wound down in the face of debts and the investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority?!
Hmmm...🤔
Its hard to fathom how Mitchell and Goulding can move funds from their charity IN THE MIDST OF THE CHARITY COMMISSION INQUIRY....?
And what of the unaudited accounts from 2022 which were mysteriously removed from the Charity Commission's website due to a cited " administrative error " in 2023; but that doesn't explain why the Charity Commission did not restore those unaudited accounts to their website once they 'realized their administrative error.'...
Personally I am minded to agree with Baz' comment on this article regarding the Charity Commission...
"Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive”.
Peter Mitchell and his partner Councillor Colette Goulding have blood on their hands; the suicides of the Big Help vulnerable tenants whom they had received millions of pounds to provide supported accommodation and failed to provide adequate support.
There are those who may think my following comment cruel but I care not:
If Peter Mitchell really does have terminal cancer, then I for one shall not weep.
I know the trauma of the impact of suicide on loved ones who trusted Mitchell and Goulding as Chief Executive and Asst. Chief Executive of the Big Help to care for their loved ones. They have never shown any remorse or accountability for the service failures which resulted in these tragic deaths.
Karma is a bitch...
If you look at Cllr Goulding's register of interests there's nothing under council contracts but there have been several payments over the years to Big Help, including £17,825 in July 2023 for rent.
So interesting! And horrifyingly predictable - the usual story of greed and self-interest disguised as charity.
However, my adhd brain got sidetracked by the judge saying “Mr Mitchell’s preponderance” for making statements… He must have meant predilection. Doh!
Brilliant journalism and quite shocking as previous comments said. It will be interesting to see what comes out of it, if anything - I would be delighted to hear otherwise but to my knowledge none of the major corruption cases have led to anything: Ged Fitzgerald, Nick Kavanagh, Joe Anderson. I would love to hear why none of these arrests resulted in convictions…
Immensely impressed by this forensic article by Abi and co. Depressed also by the greed and corruption. There is an air of inevitability about it. I think Brecht wrote a a vitriolic poem about it.
Yet another fantastic article up to the standard we have now come to expect from the Post. It always seems to end the same way, these organisations start off, (or at least seem to) with the noblest of intentions, (in this case - intending, it would seem - to offer valuable help to the homeless, but then before too long, we end up with the now over familiar story, somebody or everybody deciding that "perhaps I/we could reward ourselves for the job we're doing" and so, what MIGHT begin as some kind of justifiable (genuinely ) expenses account, for things like personal vehicle use, or even some kind of company vehicle, then seems to lead to "well the company's in a very extremely healthy sta
(Bastard computer Mine's "goosed" at the moment so having to use my son's, which isn't really equipped for serious adult use) "Well, the finances are in a very healthy state, so why don't we pay ourselves some kind of "nominal wage?" Then somebody else chimes up with some kind of other justification, and before too much longer, the actual charity itself is little more than some kind of pipeline.
The Charity Commission, while having investigative and regulatory powers, is simply little more than a glorified advisory service, and seeing as the latest Chairman was a mate of somebody from the last Government, given their apparent "Laisses Faire" attitude toward regulation, perhaps it's no kind of shock that all this is happening.
As for the Labour Party, never mind the gang up at Dale St, the senior people from Manchester need to get involved, and if necessary, the National Party
I don’t think the last government can be held responsible for the corruption identified in this article.
The last government turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to the reported corruption, abuse of position and service failures to the vulnerable tenants of Peter Mitchell and Colette Goulding' s Big Help Project.
Stating that the previous government bears no responsibility is akin to saying that the national and regional Labour party have no responsibility to the people of this great city Liverpool, for the fraud and corruption of the Liverpool Labour party as illustrated in the #maxcallerreport et al!
If it makes you feel any better: the Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside, was alerted to concerns about Peter Mitchell and The Big Help's service failures to vulnerable tenants resulting in a number of tenants' suicides.
At the time Johnson claimed to have no knowledge of the Big Help. Yet less than 2 years later Kim Johnson MP was hosting an event the sponsors of which were ...The Big Help!
Brilliant journalism once there on it they don't give up while the echo is publishing the best burger in Liverpool tge post is uncovering story's like this and we all know this is not the only so called charity in this city that's using any means to get to money let's see alot more brought to book
Keep going!