Dumfries and Galloway Council paid carer for two years after child left
- Published
Payments to carers will be checked in future after the overpayments were found
Extra checks are to be introduced after a council kept paying a carer for two years after a child they had been looking after moved on.
The local authority in Dumfries and Galloway made overpayments totalling £30,000 which it now needs to recover.
It failed to notice that the child had returned to a parent and then moved to another kinship carer.
The council said it would take any steps necessary to avoid any similar incidents happening in future.
A report found its payment system generally provided "acceptable control" but had some "specific weaknesses".
The issue is highlighted in an internal audit of the local authority's processes, external for paying out millions of pounds for kinship care, fostering and adoption each year.
They were generally found to be sound but flagged up one case of concern.
"We note that a kinship carer continued to be paid when the child was no longer staying with them," the audit reported.
"Management have agreed to check each scheduled payment run for accuracy before payment."
The kinship care payment in question continued for two years after a placement had concluded and the child involved was being looked after by others.
The report said the overpayment of £30,000 was now "due to be recovered".
Processes reviewed
In order to avoid any repeat incidents it has recommended that the social worker responsible for each child should check each month that they are placed with the stated carer.
"A check will be done of all payments each month to ensure that they are correct," the report added.
"Processes will be reviewed to see if further control improvements may be made."
In a statement, the council said it would take action to ensure similar errors would not be made in future.
"Our council services rely on the the accuracy and reliability of our council systems," it said.
"We will learn any lessons from this particular case and apply them as appropriate to try and ensure this does not happen again."