FIERY words were exchanged over a serious case of fraud within the council’s workforce at a council audit and governance meeting on Thursday, September 29.

Labour councillor and deputy leader Tony Page shot sharp words at Conservative Cllr Isobel Ballsdon after she questioned whether Reading Borough Council’s self auditing procedures were up to scratch.

The case in question was that of Peter Owusu-Ansah, an officer in charge of monitoring cash who pocketed more than £42,000 of public money.

Owusu-Ansah was convicted of fraud on August 1, 2016, a full ten months after he first stole Section 106 funds paid to the council from private developers.

As well as asking the audit and governance board members if they were confident that the ‘inherent weaknesses’ in the council’s financial systems were now strengthened, Cllr Balldon asked about the likelihood of a repeat offence.

She said: “How can Cllr Lovelock expect councillors and residents to have any confidence that the numbers reported in the borough’s accounts are supported by robust controls and processes given the ease with which the basic fraud was committed from within the council and the length of time it took – a year – for it to be revealed?”

After Cllr Lovelock acknowledged the seriousness of the fraud and made assurances that the council was inspecting its auditing system, Cllr Page went on the offensive.

“I mean Cllr Ballsdon always waxes hysterical about matters that she should be better informed about having been chair of planning,” he said.

“The fact is that this fraud was uncovered very swiftly and the prosecution mounted very swiftly as Paul Harrington (Head of Audit) said.

"I know that Cllr Ballsdon would like to try and throw mud and show somehow that countless thousands have gone missing in previous years, but she has no evidence of that – we’ve had reassurance from Mr Harrington about work that was done on previous years and I am satisfied with those assurances from him.”

Despite claims from Cllr Page that a proceeds of crime order would retrieve the majority of the funds and slight weaknesses in the council’s audit system could be expected in a financially squeezed institution, Cllr Ballsdon expressed her dissatisfaction after the meeting.

She said: “As usual councillors tried to deflect attention from the matter in hand.”