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Rutland County Council sorts out finances after audit delay




A council is getting its finances ‘back on track’ after years of delay due to auditors.

Rutland County Council has had its accounts’ sign off delayed due to external auditors not being able to keep up with the workload nationally.

At an internal audit committee held in Oakham on Tuesday (September 24), the council’s finance boss Kirsty Nutton said although the most recent set of accounts, for the 2023/24 financial year, will not be finalised by the end of this month as hoped, it should be completed by December.

Coun Andrew Johnson (LibDem)
Coun Andrew Johnson (LibDem)

She said her department was under pressure, in part due to the extra audit requirements but also due to the financial strains on the budget.

Asked by Labour councillor Ramsay Ross whether her department was under stress, she replied “absolutely", adding that they were having to deal with constant reductions in funding.

In past financial years delays meant the authority has had a number of sets of financial accounts open, which meant extra work due to the council having to ‘recheck its assumption’ and restate its balance sheets.

Coun Ross also asked if there was a staffing issue in the authority.

Cabinet member responsible for governance and resources Coun Andrew Johnson (Lib Dem), said while the authority had had a high staff turnover, things had improved. He said rumours of staffing issues were unfounded and the authority was currently only advertising 10 vacancies.

The authority needs to make savings of almost £2 million this year on its overall budget of just under £50 million. It has called the situation a crisis and is calling for 'fairer funding' from central government.

Catmose Sports Centre closed due to a lack of council money
Catmose Sports Centre closed due to a lack of council money

The budget crisis has led to the authority deciding not to renew a leisure contract, which meant the Catmose Sports Centre in Oakham closed this spring.



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