 The cost of the New Forest Slippery Floor Fiasco continues to rise.
The Tory controlled New Forest District Council suffered a major embarrassment last year as news emerged that the wrong sort of polish used on sports hall floors and a subsequent failed legal case resulted in a loss of around £300,000 to local taxpayers.
A subsequent internal inquiry confirmed that most members of the council were kept in the dark until after the High Court bid claim damages against the flooring company had failed.
The bungled case is thought to have cost each taxpayer in the New Forest District up to £5 each.
Cllr. David Harrison, Leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition group led calls for an independent inquiry into the scandal, saying “The public have a right to know who it was that made the foolish decision to contest this case. Nobody has been disciplined or held to account over this fiasco”.
The ruling conservative group refused to agree to an independent inquiry but the case was investigated by the Audit Commission who has been critical of the council.
In a report due to go before the Council Cabinet this week it is revealed that the council has had to pay nearly £5,000 more for investigations undertaken by Auditors.
Councillor Harrison says “I’m really angry that local taxpayer’s money has been so stupidly thrown away.
The thousands of pounds that the Auditors have charged is for a report that has still not revealed exactly who made the decision to launch this bungled legal case.
They didn’t interview a single councillor.
It’s a sorry tale of bad judgement, cover-ups and wasting public money”.
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