Leicestershire County Council Conservative Group
Statement from David Parsons, Leader of Leicestershire County Council following the meeting of the Standards (Hearing) Committee.
"Firstly, I apologise unreservedly for the delay in payments from the EU to East Midlands Councils (EMC) on my travel account. I have already ensured that new procedures are in place which should prevent a recurrence of these problems.
"I made it very clear to the committee that I did not at any time seek to give myself a financial benefit at the taxpayer’s expense.
"I co-operated fully with the independent assessor and I give an undertaking to co-operate fully with the training requirements as outlined in the committee’s report."
David Parsons says, “I am disappointed that the committee didn’t take greater account of the chaotic and disorganised admin procedures at EMC. These poor accounting systems meant there was confusion over how much was owing and when. New procedures which I have put in place will lead to much better accountability in future and I confirm that no amounts are outstanding from me.
"We have calculated that the possible loss of interest to EMC was of the order of £150 over six years. This amount I will repay and I will make a similar donation to charity. The maximum figure by which I was overdrawn was £3900. This represents one sixth of one percent of the total turnover of EMC. I argued to the committee that it was important to keep some idea of proportion- and the language of the Internal Audit report is out of all proportion to the amounts owed.
"I am also pleased that the committee found no suggestion of dishonest intent. I believe that these attacks against me have been politically motivated. Due process has been satisfied and I now intend to draw a line under the matter.”
ENDS