Concerns raised over staff still being paid after they leave council
Former employees are having to repay the money they unexpectedly received
Devon County Council has admitted it's had 'some issues such as non-compliance' after figures showed some staff were still being paid after they'd left the authority.
The audit report from the Devon Assurance Partnership also revealed 'the council was paying expenses to staff without having the receipts to prove the expenditure was actually made and travel costs were being claimed without saying what the trip was for'.
Opposition councillor Alan Connett (Liberal Democrats) who serves on the council's audit committee, said: "We were assured that the £11,239 overpaid is being paid back on installment plans - apart from £200 which has been written off by the council. The amount may appear small - and thank goodness for that, but it shouldn't be happening at all.
"Thankfully, it is a small number of people who were overpaid when they left the council. However, the worry is that if it happening in one department could be be happening, unseen, in other County Hall departments."
A council spokesperson responded by saying: “While some issues such as non-compliance or scope for improvement were identified, the committee concluded that they are reasonably assured on the adequacy and effectiveness of internal controls and believe that there is a generally sound system of governance, risk management and control in place.”
The report showed 78% of expenses claims were authorised without a valid receipt and 77% of expenses claims (totalling £267,000) were authorised 'without a clear explanation of how it is in line with council policy'.
The report also showed that the longest serving interim member of staff has been at County Hall for two years and the longest serving consultant for three years. The report says Devon County Council spends around £10.7 million a year on agency workers.
Councillor Caroline Leaver, Leader of the Liberal Democrats group on Devon County Council said:"At a time when every penny really matters and County Hall is demanding more Council Tax from already hard-pushed residents, we would all expect the tightest of grips on the expenditure.
The auditors have given the county council a roasting - and rightly so. What we see in the auditors report, are frankly shocking examples that will concern everyone. The Conservatives have been running Devon County Council for 16 years but they are, very clearly, not in control. Money is being wasted and the systems to stop it are simply either not place or not being observed."
Yesterday The GMB Union threatened to do 'whatever is necessary' as it claims Devon County Council is trying to 'fire and rehire' almost 1,000 staff.