Representatives from the organisation responsible for running music teaching to youngsters in Gwent failed to turn up to a council meeting to discuss concerns around missing instruments.

Gwent Music had been called in to the council’s audit committee earlier this year, but because staff members were furloughed the meeting was pushed back to November.

The call-in was made by committee members who raised concerns over an “unsatisfactory audit”, in particular the stock control of musical instruments.

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The committee chairman John Baker said it was “disappointing” that representatives failed to turn up.

He said: “It’s a bit disappointing they haven’t attended today given that we moved the meeting for them but nevertheless we are where we are with the emailed response.”

A spokesman for Gwent Music said: “The committee took a written response from officers, which meant they were not required to attend the meeting in person.”

However, in the audit meeting last week the committee members echoed the chairman’s disappointment and decided that Gwent Music would be asked to attend the meeting for a third time in the New Year.

In the audit report, concerns were raised over an up-to-date inventory of musical instruments and sheet music.

It also found that Gwent Music’s loan database “had a high number of outstanding loans (of instruments) dating back to 2006”.

Given this dates back 14 years, the report acknowledges many of the musical instruments may not be held by the person listed.

There were also people identified as having an instrument that had not been returned, who were no longer at a school in Newport.

In response, the report said that Gwent Music had transferred to a new system to record musical instruments in 2016.

A full stock take of instruments was started in April 2020 and continued when staff returned from furlough, with a completion date of January 2021.

Gwent Music will be reinspected in due course and will be called in to an Audit committee meeting in the New Year.