Reports from external auditors have revealed that the Tory-run County Council’s mistakes have cost residents over £123,000 in extra audit fees with errors being found worth £250,000.

Liberal Democrat councillor Allan Witherick said “£123,000 is a lot of money. Think about all the voluntary groups who have just received funding cuts – imagine what this money could have achieved if invested in the community.’

Councillor Ron Tindall flagged up real concerns about the Tory attitude:
“These costs are before we take in to account extra time spent by council staff doing this work.’

Yet more issues were revealed including that working papers and audit trails written by contractors had disappeared or never existed and that as such the officers and external auditors still weren’t able to give full reassurances at the meeting.

One councillor was heard commenting: “The eyes of Herts are upon us and they see failure.”