Extra controls are being put in place following the scandal that led to eleven dismissals of temporary staff contracted to Dorset Council.
Millions of pounds of taxpayer funds are believed to have been spent on safety improvements without adequate oversight – or establishing whether the work undertaken on council properties delivered value for money.
In certain instances, tasks were being executed at rates significantly exceeding anticipated costs.
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Recently, the council has indicated it aims to recover at least a million pounds from contracts, with a police inquiry ongoing.
Dorset Council leader Cllr Nick Ireland states that further measures are now being introduced to strengthen controls over how officers can allocate council funds – a step he claims will make unauthorised expenditure more challenging.
He explains the modifications follow an internal audit that uncovered the issues.
"This is essentially putting in place controls which were missing, it's ensuring that the current SAP system (finance) has those controls in there: it will, probably, require a bit of changing culture; some things won't be easy to spend money on as has been on the past, which was, of course, the problem," he said.
Finance portfolio holder on the council Cabinet, Cllr Simon Clifford, said: "This is a big first step to putting some of the compliance issues behind us, but it is just a first step and there's still a significant way to go."
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He noted his belief that a shift in mindset was already occurring, with numerous officers becoming increasingly conscious of the dangers of exceeding their delegated authority, whilst more were coming forward with any worries.
"I believe it shows that people are looking, and I am grateful they are looking; and that it shows there's a culture change which I hope will filter down through the organisation so that we don't find ourselves in this position again," he said.
"We are getting there but there's still a long way to go..
"What we had in the first place was beyond disappointing, it was shocking, and we're putting that right, and I'm grateful to everyone who is contributing to that."