Glasgow City Council loses thousands of pounds as permit charges not rolled out online

Glasgow City Council has lost out on thousands of pounds after a team failed to put through charge rises for a “vast” number of permits on an online system since 2022.

Increased charges for skips, cranes, scaffolding, and road occupation permits were not added to an online system meaning customers were underpaying.

Now, the council’s head of audit, Duncan Black, is calling a meeting with senior managers to devise ways to catch mistakes earlier.

Mr Black told a committee that they know of £6,000 being lost over charges for cranes, but the information for skips, scaffolding, and road occupation permits has not been released yet.

Councillor Jim Kavanagh described it as a “critical error,” adding: “This council needs every single penny it can make.”

He pointed out the money poured down the drain would amount to more than £6,000 as there is a “vast array” of permits with incorrect charges.

The local Labour politician said: “I cannot believe that we don’t go into whatever system and change the new increase to such and such.”

Querying why it had not been picked up earlier, he added: “It is a basic business error. We don’t need to be Einstein or a mathematician to deal with that. It is disgraceful. It is 18 months of underpayment to this council.”

Speaking at the finance and audit scrutiny committee, Mr Black said: “When a charge is updated, it should be updated across all systems.

“It is disappointing to see that didn’t happen. Obviously, we have picked it up through the audit plan process, and that is what we are doing today – bringing it back to you so it is fixed.”

A council report said the cost of a crane permit is actually £172 per day, but customers were only asked to pay £164.

Committee chair Jill Brown pointed out that although “we are all human,” having “so many charges that have not been updated for such a long period of time” raises concerns about no check being made to “make sure the right amount is being charged.”

She pointed out that the neighbourhoods, regeneration and sustainability (NRS) department consistently overspends, among other problems.

Mr Black said he would “reflect on that” and explained, “resources are not infinite.” He promised to sit down with senior managers at NRS to consider different additional lines of assurance to implement over and above correcting what was found.

The matter came to light as he presented an internal audit on fees and charges.

The council audit report said the issue was assigned high priority, and the “Lagan System is currently being updated to reflect the current Crane Permit rate.

“NRS Management will also conduct a review to ensure the rates for all permit types have been updated and further errors addressed and updated.”