Cambridgeshire County Council contract failings "inexcusable"

One of the breaches related to a winter gritting contract

"Clear breaches" in the procurement of two contracts are "inexcusable and appalling", a council heard.

Independent auditors BDO found Cambridgeshire County Council had broken rules with a gritting contract in 2015 and the use of a consultancy service in 2016.

Councillor Chris Boden said it was "difficult to understate the importance" of the report's findings.

The council previously admitted "serious failings".

The report was presented to the council's audit and accounts committee meeting last week, as reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

In relation to the gritting contract awarded to Econ, auditors found no formal tendering process had been followed, in breach of the council's own rules.

The second case related to the awarding of consultancy services contracts worth £92,857 to V4 Services Ltd during July 2016.

Conservative Mr Boden said the two "clear breaches" occurred in "slightly different ways".

The consultancy contract was the result of a "cumulative effect of continued supply of services", he said.

It was "still inexcusable that it was not picked up, but I can understand why because actually keeping track of all that is not an easy thing," he added.

Councillor Boden described the gritting contract breach as "appalling" and said he was "disappointed" that senior council members "seemed to be unaware of the potential consequences".

Labour councillor Nick Gay, vice chairman of the committee, said it will keep the procurement processes under review to "ensure no such failures can occur in the future".