PwC £20,000 probe unveils £130 in unlawful claims
A £20,000 PwC probe into alleged fraud by Welsh councillors has identified unlawful claim of just £130
Swansea
Council paid its auditors
PricewaterhouseCoopers
(PwC) £20,000 for an investigation into alleged fraud by its councillors which
uncovered unlawful claims of only £130.
Lis Davies, former Dunvant community councillor, who reported 15 Swansea
councillors to South Wales Police and PwC, objected to almost 250 items of
expenditure by the councillors in 2006-07. Together with claims made in earlier
years, she had estimated false claims of up to £20,000 might have been made.
The councillors who were investigated condemned the cost of the inquiry as a
huge waste of public money. Councillor Sylvia Lewis said Davies had cost the
Swansea taxpayers more than £20,000 to recover £129.72.
After examining 234 items of expenditure, a PwC report recommended an
expenditure of £129.72, which was ‘potentially unlawful’ be reimbursed by the
individual members to the authority. ‘We have also made a number of
recommendations to the authority to improve its systems and processes regarding
members’ expenses,’ PwC partner Lynn Hine said.
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story in the Western Mail