Dorset Council budget overspends are 'nowhere near the mark'
Figures in a public report which revealed Dorset Council budget overspends ballooning from £4 million to as much as £13 million are ‘nowhere near the mark,’.
Figures in a public report which revealed Dorset Council budget overspends ballooning from £4 million to as much as £13 million are ‘nowhere near the mark,’ a full council meeting of Weymouth Town Council was told.
Cllr Simon Clifford, also a Dorset councillor, and portfolio holder for finance, was speaking about a recent report which revealed that 11 council officers were sacked due to undeclared gifts and hospitality and a disregard for financial rules.
He said details in the report were 'really shocking' and 'big questions remain'.
A budget difference from £4 million to £13 million is mentioned in the report.
The report says a handful of firms were favoured for work with some fees not being properly authorised, prices inflated and “substantial unnecessary and unjustified costs.”
One example given is a charge of £300 for work done worth only £20.
Cllr Clifford said: “I would say that the figures in the press are around £13 million. That’s nowhere near the mark. That’s just the current spending level. It’s considerably more than that when you take into account all the work that’s continued over the past year.”
The report says there is “evidence of illegal activity or fraud and/or failure to comply with council rules and procedures” and “potential obfuscation and dishonesty by council officers.
All of the buildings were said to have been handed over to Dorset Council from previous councils when the new authority was established in April 2019 with little, or no checks by previous authorities that statutory obligations for health and safety were in place.
Those omissions are believed to have gone un-noticed by Dorset Council until at least 2022.
Cllr Clifford added: “This report does of course involve failings in assessing buildings in Weymouth. This is frankly 20 months of appalling behaviour from private sector staff, council staff, senior officers that has been uncovered.
"It’s really shocking to anyone that has looked into the detail of this. It has been ongoing for a good 18-20 months.
“Big questions still remain. Weymouth buildings are involved in the shocking behaviour. One of the biggest questions is 'how did we get here in the first place'?
“Have our buildings been safe for the last three to four years before the checks were finally carried out. That is a report that I have asked to be started.
“For 20 months there has been no challenge and within a month of having a new cabinet, challenge was in place and officers were starting to effectively come clean I think it’s an indictment of us all, officers, staff, senior leaders and directors.
“We need to be more challenging and questioning of what goes on in the council. Hopefully there will be some consequences.”
