‘Human error’ was responsible for Reading Borough Council paying a social care provider £1m more than it was owed, a report found.

An employee incorrectly calculated an ‘inflationary increase’ resulting in an overpayment of £1,194,538 in July 2021, according to an internal audit report.

The money has been recovered and no fraud took place, the report states.

Director of adult social care Seona Douglas said: “We are very concerned about this issue and whilst this is an isolated case which was the direct result of human imputing error, it is very clear that it would have been captured if the correct checks and balances had been in place."

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She continued: “Whilst the error was regrettable, the prompt and honest action by the provider who reported the overpayment to us was entirely consistent with the spirit of our close cooperation.”

The full report and an action plan will be presented to Reading Borough Council’s audit and governance committee on January 25.

It states the error occurred at a time when Council services were under acute strain due to the pressures brought about by the COVID pandemic.

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Ms Douglas said the council has undertaken work to develop automated systems to make it easier to identify future problems prior to payment.

Plans to make sure senior management has complete oversight of rate increases for providers are also being put in place, said Ms Douglas.

“Reading Borough Council and the Council Leader rightly place great emphasis on transparency in these matters and I thank the Council’s internal audit team for their proactive approach in identifying areas for improvement,” she said.