Council Corporate Credit Cards and the failure to disclose the spending and debts run up on the 415 cards held by Cumbria’s two councils.

Council Corporate Credit Cards and the failure to disclose the spending and debts run up on the 415 cards held by Cumbria’s two councils.

Through an investigation by members of a local party Putting Cumbria First into the corporate credit card spending and debts held by Cumberland Council and Westmorland and Furness Council as part of a wider scrutiny of both councils financial transparency failures since they took over on the 1st of April 2023.

Cumberland Council has confirmed it has 121 Corporate Cards and 142 School Cards a total of 263.

Westmorland and Furness Council has conferment it has 86 corporate credit cards; Westmorland & Furness schools have 165 cards, for a total of 251.

To date both councils have been asked and failed to provide the actually monthly spending on any of the 514 credit cards the councils collectively hold.

This is despite a legal requirement under the local government transparency code to provide the spending of the council including the spending on credit cards.

As well as the spending on each card that the councils have both failed to provide to date.

The councils have also been asked to provide details of any spending under investigation or unauthorised spending on council corporate credit cards since 1st April 2023.

One council has responded to this request confirming that the Council does hold the information requested, however has decided to withhold the information.

Saying “The Council considers that disclosure of the information could jeopardise an ongoing investigation. As the detection of crime would be prejudiced by disclosure”

In the final month of the former councils replaced by the new unitary councils one council with a single corporate credit card spent over £16,000 in March 2023.

Questions have been asked of Cumberland Council and Westmorland and Furness Councils spending on the councils collective 514 Credit cards after it emerged another Cash-strapped Northern Council racked up a bill of almost £8m on its corporate purchase cards in the last financial year.

A damning report into purchase card activity within just one department of Middlesbrough Council, by investigators found evidence of non-compliance with policy and thousands of unreviewed transactions. There was no regular challenge against excessive spending limits, auditors found, while some officers were even reviewing and approving their own spend.

Investigations into historic spending on some of the legacy councils on credit cards has also revealed Cumbria County Council in January 2023 racked up spending of £959,171.00 in a single months transactions.

Among the spending by Schools that collectively account for 307 of the corporate credit cards held by both councils some schools were spending in that month amounts that ranged on a school by school spend from £1,000 to £10,000 in a month on the credit cards with one school spending over £15,000 on new play equipment.

Many schools were also using the cards to pay for gas and electricity bills with some paying over £6,000 to energy suppliers on the council corporate credit cards.

The council’s failure to disclose the spending since April 2023 on the collective 514 cards and the apparent investigations the councils have now launched after an investigation by local Party Putting Cumbria First into the council’s finances and credit cards raises serious concerns about possible financial blackholes in both councils that could total millions that will ultimately land on council tax payers to cover the debts.

The disclosure that among the two councils and its 514 corporate credit cards that “disclosure of the information could jeopardise an ongoing investigation” should be an alarm bell for everyone in Cumbria as to the financial state of our councils and the lack of a grip on the public purse by the councils.