‘Off the books’ payments sparked internal inquiry

A corruption i nve s t i g ation has revealed weaknesses in Renfrewshire Council’s procurement procedures.

The local authority’s internal auditor launched a probe after it emerged a company contracted to carry out road resurfacing work had been handed £250,000 in ‘off the books’ funds.

Auditors became involved after suggestions there was ‘collusion’ with the company involved and that the council’s procurement system was being bypassed in favour of an older structure which was subject to less scrutiny.

The investigation within the council’s Environment and Communities department, which was launched in June last year, found no evidence of corruption or collusion with the contractor, but identified weaknesses in ways it secured goods and services.

A report will go before The council’s Audit, Scrutiny and Risk Board next week with the findings of the investigation.

It was discovered the department was using an outdated system of procurement and identified a need for managers to be given more training in this area.

It states: “The auditors could not substantiate any of the allegations made. However, weaknesses were identified in terms of a lack of procurement training to managers and oversight of all of the systems used within the council for the procurement of goods and services.”

Problems were also identified in the way the department recorded its purchases.

The report continued: “Issues were also identified in terms of the robustness of the checking undertaken on the contractor invoices and a lack of a clear audit trail to support charges levied on the council for the hire of plant and operatives.

“Recommendations have therefore been made to address these issues and to strengthen the control environment in place.”

A spokesman for Renfrewshire Council said: “The council takes all allegations relating to the misspend of public funds seriously and completes a full investigation to determine their validity.

“In this instance, the council is satisfied that an alternative process was used as the approved framework did not meet with the requirements of the service and there was no evidence provided which indicated collusion with a contractor.

“An action plan has been prepared to address the weaknesses found during the investigation to ensure a robust procurement process continues to be in place for the hire of goods or services by the council.”