INAPPROPRIATE use of West Berkshire Council spending cards could be going unnoticed, auditors have warned. 

Government procurement cards are used to quickly and easily pay for low priced items. Using them saves councils time and paperwork. 

However, the council’s internal auditors have found ‘a number of weaknesses’ in how those cards are used in West Berkshire. 

Julie Gillhespey, audit manager at WBC, reported to the governance and ethics committee on July 29, detailing the findings. 

She said an audit five years ago found several weaknesses, and the current audit was to see if things had improved. 

She wrote: “The internal audit found similar issues to the ones identified during the previous review, with services not following the requirements of the guidance.

“Although it has a council-wide implication, there are relatively low values involved.”

The total amount spent on procurement cards in the financial year ending March 2018 was £87,500. WBC publishes on its website what its procurement cards are used for. 

The latest data show that in July, August and September last year, in total £2,049 was spent at Tesco, £1,690 at Amazon, £1,196 at Travelodge, and £40 at Dominos Pizza. 

Ms Gillhespey said: “There was a risk of inappropriate use of the card that would not be identified.” 

But she also said: “We did not identify any inappropriate purchases.”

Councillor Joanne Stewart (Con, Tilehurst Birch Copse), at the July 29 meeting, said: “What you’ve found is similar to what you found previously. How do you make sure things improve this time?”

Ms Gillhespey said: “Specific training to each of the people who are card holders or card administrators.

“There has been a program of very detailed training in place, to go through exactly what we need for procedures and templates. And we will be following it up.”