A WORCESTERSHIRE councillor has warned against any repeats of the county's consultancy controversy - saying it "must not happen again".

Labour Councillor Robin Lunn says he believes confidence among the public has been shaken after a leaked report highlighted concerns from auditors over lax controls around consultancy spending.

The report, revealed by your Worcester News last month, revealed worries consultants were employed with no insurance checks, no records of job interviews and contracts being extended without it being properly signed off by politicians at Worcestershire County Council.

Cllr Lunn said: "What it highlighted and exposed was significant control weaknesses which elected members knew nothing about, with no guarantees over value for money at all.

"It's extraordinary. Surely the least our constituents expect of us is that every penny of spending is being looked at with a hawk-like gaze.

"Blank cheques seem to have been written with no idea of the costs - think of how many elderly people would have benefited from better services had this been better controlled.

"This simply cannot be allowed to happen again."

The Conservative leadership at County Hall has rejected calls for a committee-led investigation into the saga after saying all of the issues were resolved over the summer.

The report revealed how in a random sample of 10 outside consultants employed by the council, 40 per cent were not asked for any evidence of public liability insurance.

It said how a "common theme" was that contracts with fixed costs and timescales ended up being "significantly" longer and more expensive without any further "competitive procurement processes" taking place to find a cheaper supplier.

In some cases contract extensions were signed with third parties without it being approved by the relevant cabinet member or manager, which is against council rules

In one example a contract was extended from £14,200 to £117,309, and in another it went from £30,000 to £184,000 without cabinet members being told, despite council rules specifying they must sign off deals costing more than £50,000.

The findings related to samples from the 2013/14 financial year and after being circulated among a pool of senior council figures, steps have been taken to remind staff of the need to follow rules at all times.

Councillor Adrian Hardman, the leader, said: "On (Tuesday) the 12th of August the senior leadership team reaffirmed it was an absolute requirement for staff to always follows the correct protocol."

He also said all the consultancy spending is published on the council's website and that managers "have been reminded of the need" to always stick to the rules.

"The review found compliance issues in some parts of the council and since then the issues raised have been addressed in all the areas concerned.

"Management have been reminded of the need to comply fully with the procurement code at all times."