AN INDEPENDENT panel has begun reviewing all council contracts due to long-term management failings and abuse of the system.

The panel has been set up because the authority admits it has failed to control staff who regularly broke rules to prevent fraud.

The move is described as a ‘reputational issue’ for the council and chief executive Andrew Kilburn’s ‘top priority’.

In a damning indictment of the council’s existing processes, all contracts, payments and accounts will now be independently assessed for legitimacy.

Also the way the authority has responded to previous investigations into the mismanagement of contracts will be assessed.

The tendering of new contracts will also be tightly controlled to ensure the rules are followed.

A single officer will be responsible for ensuring adequate processes exist.

As a possible sign of some resistance to the changes, a council report states that there is ‘cause for concern’ over how this role affects departmental financial officers.

The officer, known as a Section 151, will also check to see if recommendations from previous investigations have been implemented.

Sarah Wood has been appointed to fulfil this role on an interim basis and will carry out a thorough investigation of the council’s finances.

The panel will work in secret to ensure confidentiality but the council intends to publish its findings.

The work, which begun on June 8, is expected to conclude by July 6.

A final report is expected two weeks later and the chief executive will then decide on the process of making it public.

This is expected to happen within eight weeks of the report being completed.

Peter Rogers, chief executive of the London Development Agency, will chair the panel. He will be joined by Lucy de Groot CBE, former chief executive of the Improvement and Development Agency, and David Parr, chief executive of Halton Borough Council.