Somerset County Council bank card used for Amazon private purchases

A former Somerset County Council officer was sentenced to pay after using an authority bank card for Amazon private purchases.

The problem was discovered during an internal investigation by the board audit committee.

The case was referred to as "public procurement claim", but did not specify the amount involved.

"All funds have been reimbursed to the board as a result of the agreement of the individual," said the authority.

The government is encouraging local authorities to use acquisition cards to reduce the time and red tape badociated with the reimbursement of private cards, the local democracy report service said.

The report stated: "This was an allegation that a staff member (who was leaving anyway) had used his county council purchasing card to make online purchases via Amazon.

"In this case, the person used the board card repeatedly – the person acknowledged the mistake and agreed to repay what was owed to him."

A spokesperson said: "We take very seriously the oversight of spending within the board.The permission to use business purchase cards is strictly controlled and any expense is monitored from near.

"This isolated incident concerns a small number of purchases made by mistake."