Council misses financial deadline

12.00.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 4th Jul 2006

A delay at Eastbourne Buses means that the borough council has missed the legal deadline for filing its accounts.

Eastbourne Borough Council's accounts committee was due to sign off the accounts at the meeting last Monday before the official June 30th deadline. But councillors were told the meeting would have to be put off for two days because Eastbourne Buses did not have its accounts ready.

However, when councillors arrived for the rescheduled Wednesday meeting, red-faced council chiefs had to admit that the bus accounts, which are part of the overall council accounts, were still not ready and so the council failed in its legal obligation to submit its books for scrutiny.

Lib Dem Deputy Leader Cllr Neil Stanley said. "Every year the council is legally obliged to approve its accounts by the end of June. They are then scrutinised by external auditors to make sure the council is spending council tax-payers' money wisely and delivering value for money. The auditors' report is published in September, and Eastbourne Council has failed in its legal requirement to be ready by June 30th.

"The council owns the bus company and a Conservative councillor chairs its board of directors. It is their duty to make sure it is properly run.

"When we got to the postponed meeting, we were given what sounds like an excuse - that the bus company got the dates wrong. But Eastbourne Buses' financial year ended last December and its accounts are still not ready. It doesn't take a genius to work out that something is seriously wrong."