Force’s spending rapped
JUST a week after Cambridgeshire s Chief Constable called for more Government money, the police authority s auditors have criticised the force for a £2.5million overspend on last year s budget. Accountants Pricewaterhouse Coopers are due to present their
JUST a week after Cambridgeshire's Chief Constable called for more Government money, the police authority's auditors have criticised the force for a £2.5million overspend on last year's budget.
Accountants Pricewaterhouse Coopers are due to present their annual report to the authority today (Thursday).
"The authority was unable to maintain spending within budget for 2006/7," the report says. "The expected outturn overspend is considered to be significant."
Although improvements have been made over the year - raising their overall assessment from inadequate to an adequate rating - they are concerned the overspend was not tackled in time, says the report.
"Whilst we are supportive of the actions the authority and force undertook to reduce the overspend - for which credit has been awarded - it is a concern that these matters were not identified and action taken to mitigate the overspend until mid way through the 2006/7 year," says their report.
It states that the overspending resulted from two major areas:
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n Significant police overtime on a number of murder investigations
n Errors in relation to funding pensions which the police authority wrongly believed would be paid by the Government but in reality were their responsibility.
The report concludes that the authority's financial performance has been varied over the past year.
