Council chiefs in Aberdeen have been accused of “major failures” in their management of education and children’s services ahead of a crunch meeting today.
An internal auditor made 13 recommendations about the service’s payment controls, which the education committee will discuss.
The report says that proper procurement plans weren’t developed, too much trust was placed on suppliers to charge appropriately and duplicate payments accidentally made among other failings.
Last night, Councillor Alex Nicoll, the SNP’s education spokesman, criticised the administration’s handling of their money – pointing to Redmoss School, which is likely to come in at £14million over budget.
He said: “I think there have been some serious failures in financial management.
“Unless we sort this out and return the service to an even keel we could see money being lost from the council.”
The audit report reads: “In the course of the review, the service has developed an action plan and has suggested that the area be audited again in both 2016 and 2017.”
Committee convener Angela Taylor stressed service itself had spotted the problems, and that she would be asking for regular updates on progress from officers.
She added: “It’s good that the service quickly identified the problems and took action.”