- By Alex Seabrook
- Local Democracy Reporting Service
Image source, Bristol City Council
Bristol City Council’s refugee resettlement team had “wide and unrestricted access to cash”, an audit found
Serious concerns have been raised over missing cash related to a Bristol City Council team that supports refugees.
Hundreds of pounds had been left unaccounted for in the refugee resettlement team, which is responsible for handing out Home Office grants to families fleeing war and persecution, an audit committee was told.
An internal audit found the team had “wide and unrestricted access to cash”.
Auditors will conduct a follow-up report in the near future.
The team helps people fleeing war and persecution. Families assessed by the United Nations as particularly vulnerable are eligible for formal resettlement in countries like the UK.
An internal audit found a lack of documented procedures for cash handling, and that controls to restrict access to cash were not in place.
One member of staff is solely responsible for ordering cash, preparing receipts, counting cash, and inputting data into a finance spreadsheet. But this spreadsheet does not record the amount of cash the team…
