by Trevor Bevins, Local Democracy Reporter.
Dorset Council has declined to comment in public on whether senior council officers, accused of lying, are still working for the authority.
Cabinet portfolio holder for finance, Cllr Simon Clifford, made the claim over the scandal which led to a team of external staff being dismissed over multi-million pound health and safety projects – the claims against them including over-inflated contract prices and a lack of management control over the their activities.
It has led to an on-going police investigation with Dorset Council claiming that it expects to recover at least £1million which it says had been wrongly spent.
Tory group leader on the council, Cllr Andrew Parry, has asked whether the officers Cllr Clifford was referring to are still with the council and what should have been done to address the concerns.
Senior legal officer Jonathan Mair told an audit and governance committee that the authority has a dedicated procedure for complaints about wrong doing by officers, which involves taking the allegations to the chief executive, or him, for them then to be investigated and addressed.
Mr Mair said that Cllr Clifford had told him he is satisfied with the action already taken. He said he would respond, more fully, to the Conservative group leader’s questions outside the public meeting.
A further report on the initial incidents which led to the series of dismissals is expected by the end of May.
