Council worker dismissed after investigation into purchasing card use

Nicholas Thomas – Local democracy reporter

A Newport City Council worker was dismissed following an investigation into possible fraudulent transactions using a purchasing card.

The incident was reported to the council’s audit committee, on Thursday May 28, as part of a report on shortcomings in the local authority’s use of cards.

An audit found “significant weaknesses” including people paying travel costs “outside approved channels”, using council cards to pay parking fines, and purchasing gifts and refreshments “not permitted under council policy”.

A committee report also highlighted problems with a lack of VAT receipts and supporting evidence for purchases – in all, the council approved transactions worth more than £50,000 last year without proper receipts.

Committee member Norma Barry told colleagues she was “very concerned” by the report on a situation she called “indicative of lack of managerial oversight, training and control”.

The report, for 2024/25, offered a “limited” assessment of the council’s purchasing cards policy, and follows an “unsatisfactory” audit opinion for 2022/23.

Dr Barry said the new report “certainly didn’t give me the necessary assurance things are being tackled”.

She added: “When I saw serious misuse of cards, I thought ‘how is this being allowed to happen?’”

The council’s head of finance, Meirion Rushworth, said the second audit “has been taken very, very seriously” and was “disappointing” following the previous shortcomings.

“That fraud case – all internal HR processes have now been completed with that case, and the individual has been dismissed,” he said. “It has also been reported to the police. We mustn’t talk any further about that one, but it has been reported to the police and is following its course of action.”

Cllr John Reynolds told committee colleagues he was “equally disappointed” to read non-compliance with the purchasing card policy “was still so prevalent”.

On the lack of receipts for purchases, he added: “I understand within the grand scheme of council finances that’s relatively small, but in terms of reputational damage and public perception, £50,000 of unsupported expenditure is not good.”

“I totally recognise the seriousness of this,” said council strategic director Rhys Cornwall. “We put in place a series of actions after the first audit which we’d hoped should have resolved most of the issues.”

He noted the new report “does recognise there’s been some improvement”, and said he and the council’s HR manager have “had some fairly challenging and robust conversations with some heads of services around this”.

But Mr Cornwall also pointed out individual staff sometimes make urgent card purchases, such as housing workers who need to pay for emergency temporary accommodation at a hotel.

Mr Rushworth said the new audit was completed “on the cusp between the old way of doing things and the new way of doing things”, and “a lot of the actions have already been implemented” from the first review.

“We need assurances as a committee that this does not happen again,” warned Dr Barry. “It is quite a serious reputational issue.”

Committee chairman Gareth Chapman told officers “there’s a consequence to the misuse of these cards”.

“I would hope, given this is the second time it’s been looked at, lessons will be learned,” he said. “Some of these staff are in very difficult positions when they exercise the use of that purchasing card. They are on the front line.

“Even if it is in accordance with policy, a justification needs to be made in regards to why they’ve spent that money in that urgent situation.”