Scotland's public spending watchdog has warned of weaknesses within the country's local authorities which could lead to "the loss of significant amounts of public money, impacts on services and reputational damage."
In its latest report entitled Safeguarding Public Money - Are You Getting It Right, Audit Scotland urges the nation's councillors to intensify their scrutiny of expenditure and advocates transparency in decision making.
Apparently the elected members sitting on Scotland's 32 councils are responsible for £12.4 billion of taxpayers' cash. A frightening statistic And if that sum could be trimmed by just one per cent through improved financial and risk management then £124 million would be freed up to be devoted to public services. The squandering of scarce resources should be avoided at all times.
Yet when allegations are made to Audit Scotland that cash may be being wasted through stupidity or wrongdoing, and when hard evidence of large sums being lost through reckless decision making is presented to it the watchdog either sits on its paws or refuses to investigate and bring the culprits to book.
This national agency with a multi-million pound budget of its own repeatedly produces lengthy reports telling councillors to pull up their socks and get a grip on events at their respective local authorities.
However, the regulatory system covering all aspects of council work is flawed and toothless. None of the 'watchdogs' in the sector can impose sanctions which renders much of their work meaningless and pointless.
So when Audit Scotland publishes one of its tub-thumping documents nothing much happens, and in many cases the so-called representatives of the council taxpayers are content to go on picking up their salaries and allowances, leaving paid officials to run the show.
A fair sample of elected members admit they simply don't understand the workings of local government. Others appear too timid or feel intimidated when it comes to asking searching questions. As a result many flawed projects come to be rubber-stamped without being properly scrutinised.
The willingness to wave through officers' recommendations may make it difficult for a good many councillors to comply with Audit Scotland's latest declaration that: "Councillors should seek assurances from officers that a rigorous system of internal controls is in place. Scrutiny and audit committees have leading roles, but every committee and councillor has a scrutiny role too."
The following passage also caught our eye: "Scotland’s 1,227 councillors have multi-faceted responsibilities and constantly make difficult decisions when prioritising and allocating their council’s finite resources.
"With so much at stake, it is more important than ever that the impact of their decisions on communities and individuals is transparent and clearly understood. This requires an organisational culture that is open to candid discussions about risks and recognises the importance of scrutinising decisions."
Before that instruction can be implemented we will require a complete volte-face from the secretive regimes operating within many councils in Scotland. The volume of private business at meetings has long been unacceptable, and when mistakes are made resulting in losses for taxpayers the tendency is to adopt the cover-up position!
NEXT: MORE ON THAT AUDIT SCOTLAND REPORT
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