A FORMER officer at Somerset County Council has been ordered to pay up after using one of its procurement cards to pay for items on Amazon.

The council issues its officers with government procurement cards, which work like credit cards to allow them to “quickly and easily pay for low-priced items”.

One officer – who has since left the council – was found in an internal investigation to have used their card to make a purchase via the online retailer for items not related to council business.

The council has said this was “an isolated incident” and all monies are being recovered.

Local authorities are encouraged to use procurement cards by the government to reduce time and paperwork associated with reimbursing individuals’ private cards.

For the sake of transparency and public accountability, the council publishes a list of all purchases made on its website on a monthly basis.

Items purchased within December 2018 – the most recent breakdown available – include postage stamps, stationery, train tickets and pay-and-display car parking.

A summary of the officer’s case was published as part of a report on anti-fraud and corruption work, which came before the council’s audit committee in Thursday (January 31).

The case, referred to as a “procurement allegation”, did not stipulate the amount of money which was involved or the number of transactions which had taken place.

The report read: “This was an allegation that a member of staff (who was leaving anyway) had used their county council procurement card to make online purchases through Amazon.

“Officers accidentally using a council card, as opposed to their own personal credit card, has happened several times in the past, and it is usually acknowledged and can be promptly rectified.

“In this case, the individual used the council card on a number of occasions. However, it appears that Amazon online will remember the details on a card, and unless overridden will use the same card as previously used.

“It is not unknown for officers to use Amazon for online purchased, and the individual has admitted the error and agreed to repay what is owing.”

The council has refused to divulge in which department the individual was employed, the reasons for them leaving the organisation, or the amount of money which was involved in the transactions.

It did state, however, that all monies were being repaid to the council following the individual’s agreement.

A spokesman said: “We take the oversight of spending within the council very seriously. Permission to use corporate procurement cards is strictly controlled and any spend is closely monitored.

“This isolated incident relates to a small number of purchases made in error. The mistake is being rectified with all monies being repaid.”