Stormont departments come under fire from Audit Office

Several government departments in Northern Ireland have been criticised for their poor accounting or financial practices.

A report by the Northern Ireland Audit Office, published on Tuesday December 11, showed that in some departments millions of pounds were unaccounted for or had been paid out incorrectly.

It indicated that the biggest loss to the taxpayer was from the social security budget, where almost £50 million disappeared through fraud or error.

The auditor has also called on the Department of Employment and Learning to recover more than £894,000 worth of grants it paid to various organisations which made invalid claims.

Millions of pounds have also been lost through cancelled schemes including £6 million lost when a government payroll system was abandoned.

John Dallat, Chairman of the Audit committee, said the £5 million invested in the Audit Office was money well spent. He said: “The investigation has unearthed mistakes and fraud. The fraud that has been detected is inexcusable.”

The Local Enterprise Development Unit (LEDU) was also the focus of criticism. The Auditor’s report dealt with the separate actual and attempted frauds by two employees of LEDU, Atwell and Gribben, estimated at over £219,000 between 1995 and 1998.

Auditor General John Dowdall said although LEDU introduced new control procedures following the fraud incidents, “many of the basic control weaknesses that were present in the Atwell frauds, such as inadequate separation of duties, inadequate supervision and inadequate control over purchase orders were also present in the Gribben fraud. He added: “Fraud investigations should be wide ranging and rigorous and speedily undertaken.” (AMcE)