Councils public accounts don’t add up and are full omissions.

It appears the left and right hand at Westmorland and Furness Council don’t have a clue what they are doing with your money.

Remember this is public money.

This is not so much about who they have given the money to. It's about the amounts they have said they are giving and the amounts the financial accounts report says they have actually given.

This is one example of many we have identified in the accounts of both Westmorland and Furness and Cumberland Council were they public accounts reports issued don’t add up and are full omissions of spending in the period also.

The following information was received form Westmorland and Furness Council as part of a Freedom of information request, the spreadsheet image is from the councils published spending in May 2023 of public money. note the difference in amounts so what was paid does the council have ay idea what its actually paid and what implications does this sort of error have on the overall council financial position and budget?

"Cumbria Association of Local Councils (CALC) have been awarded two grants from Westmorland and Furness Council for application between 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024.

The first is for the amount of £20,4442.50 and is for the delivery of CALCs core business including (but not limited to) offering a support help line to town and parish councils, co-ordinating and hosting executive meetings, two-tier meetings and an AGM, delivering training, ensuring local councils are kept informed on local and national sector developments, and maintaining a database of local council clerks and chairs. There is no current SLA for this grant."

The council claims it has given £20,4442.50 but the councils own published accounts of spending shows its paid £22,192.50.

Not a huge amount but these all add up and this is one of many issues identified in the councils published finance spending reports.