Senior Bristol City Council officers making decisions involving taxpayers’ money are failing to declare financial interests that could be in conflict with their work, councillors heard. Business activities and known directorships outside of roles in the local authority, which could benefit employees or their relatives, are not being submitted by many staff every two years as required, the audit committee heard.
The flaws in the system were uncovered during a review of declarations and conflicts of interests, gifts and hospitality by the organisation’s fraud prevention unit. Bristol City Council says work is underway to strengthen the process and provide clear information for officers who need to declare an interest.
Louise Lee, audit manager in the counter-fraud and investigations team, told the committee: “We have carried out a review and identified a number of concerns. We are currently engaged with management to review the actions required as a result of that and we are preparing some training to be delivered on managing conflicts of interest.”
