The council said it is addressing ‘serious governance and financial control issues’ identified earlier this year through following an independent audit and an investigation by the South West Audit Partnership (SWAP).
The report found that 11 council workers were sacked for disregarding financial rules, with evidence of undeclared gifts and hospitality revealed.
Staff members were brought in by the then Conservative-run council to sort out health and safety issues in local authority buildings in 2022 but were removed in September last year.
The initial budget for their project was £4m but the report showed the overall cost of health and safety work in council buildings reached around £13m over two years.
The investigation found evidence of “illegal activity or fraud” and “obfuscation and dishonesty by council officers”.
It showed a handful of firms were favoured for work with some fees not being properly authorised, prices inflated and “substantial unnecessary and unjustified costs”.
One example given was a charge of £300 for work which was worth only £20.
The incidents investigated centred around health and safety compliance work in council buildings carried out between December 2022 and October 2024.
A progress report will now be presented to the council’s audit and governance committee on November 24.
This will detail a comprehensive programme of improvements underway ‘to ensure these issues cannot happen again,’ the council said.
Council leader Cllr Nick Ireland said: “This has been a wake-up call for Dorset Council as an organisation.
“Historic problems were identified, and I tasked the council’s leadership team to act swiftly and thoroughly to address them.
“We are determined to ensure the organisation operates with the highest standards of transparency, accountability, and financial discipline. Our residents deserve nothing less.”
Earlier this year, the SWAP audit and investigation revealed significant weaknesses in contract management, procurement practices, financial oversight, and internal controls across the council.
SWAP was commissioned to conduct this work by the council’s Monitoring Officer, after concerns were raised internally by officers and cabinet members about non-compliance with financial controls and escalating overspend on health and safety works in council-owned buildings.
Chief Executive Catherine Howe said: “We recognise the seriousness of what was uncovered and the impact it has had on trust.
“We’ve already introduced new controls, clarified responsibilities, and embedded stronger governance across the council.
“Our focus now is on learning, improving, and ensuring that the systems and culture within the council support better decision-making and accountability. This is about restoring trust and ensuring we are fit for the future.”
Since the publication of the investigation summary in July, Dorset Council said it has strengthen its financial controls by revising the scheme of delegation which sets out who can approve spending and at what thresholds, aligning authorisation levels in the council’s finance system, and introducing compliance checkpoints for all projects involving procurement.
Improved procurement practices have also been put in place which will see tightened user permissions in procurement systems, monthly monitoring reports, and strengthened arrangements for recruitment of temporary and interim staff.
The council said it has also brought in enhanced governance and oversight after establishing a cross-functional audit response taskforce to ensure regular reporting to senior leadership and elected members.
Plans have also been developed for organisational learning which involves rolling out new training for all staff involved in commissioning and financial decision-making.
Cultural and behavioural issues will also be addressed with the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny to embed values-based decision-making and improve transparency. This work will be delivered over coming months.
A follow up audit has also been arranged.
