No bills issued for 1200 blue badges in Moray
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Some holders of disabled parking permits in Moray are set to face backdated bills from two or three years ago.
This follows the discovery that Moray Council failed send out invoices for 1200 of the blue badges applied for during 2020 and 2021.
In Scotland a blue badge costs £20 and is valid for up to three years.
The failure to issue bills has therefore resulted in a £24,000 shortfall in the council’s coffers.
The issue was discovered during an internal audit into the disabled parking service.
In addition, it was also found that clients’ personal details were not held securely.
Dafydd Lewis, the council's audit and risk manager, said the unpaid bills should now be dealt with as a "matter of urgency".
He added: "Analysis of the financial management system noted a shortfall of approximately £24,000 in the income received compared to the blue badges issued."
An increasing workload and challenges faced because of the Covid pandemic are reasons given for the failure to issue the bills.
Work is under way to identify those who applied for their blue badges during the two year period.
The council is also set to buy secure filing cabinets for the safekeeping of sensitive documents.
There is also a call for a full review of the disabled parking scheme, which has not been done for 10 years.
That would include reference to who is responsible for investigating claims of blue badges being misused.
Members of the audit and scrutiny committee will discuss the findings of the internal audit at a meeting on Wednesday.
