Total overpayments to suppliers could top £500,000

Published: 9 July, 2010

• IT is totally unacceptable for any taxpayers’ money to be wasted by a council, let alone the large amounts so far revealed.

This is particulary true during a national recession.

I disagree with the Pricewaterhouse Coopers comment that £55,000 in overpayments is not a large amount, with the implication that such a level of overpayment is acceptable practice.

Its comment presumes that, having investigated a sample of just six per cent of the council’s leading suppliers, no further overpayments will be found in the remaining suppliers.

If the small sample of 30 from the top 500 suppliers reveals a £55,000 overspend, simple extrapolation to the remaining 470 gives an estimate of total overpayments of well over half a million pounds.

And this is only the leading suppliers.

This goes well beyond “sloppy”.

The inquiry ordered by Councillor Richard Greening needs to be full, open, independent and retrospective, so that all involved in and complicit with these wastages are held fully responsible.

The inquiry must investigate and take action on not only the duplicate – and even triplicate – payment of invoices, but also the £1million suspense account and the effective disappearance of more than £5million of council tax payments. Wherever possible, monies should be recovered.

Bearing in mind the delays besetting Sobell ice rink refurbishment (scheduled to be completed in April and currently planned to reopen later this month), a fundamental, complete and independent review of all aspects of the council’s fiscal policy and practice – especially that relating to the selection and monitoring of external contractors – is long overdue and urgently needed.

BARRY HILL
Sobell user representative

• OH dear, here we go again.

Sloppy admin by Islington Council.

The Margaret Hodge syndrome still in operation; contractors being paid three times over.

I’m gullible, I believe it.

As far as the “in-charge” people are concerned, it’s “stick to your story, we’ve got away with it before, we can do it again. No probs”.

W WARD
Gee Street, EC1