Following an external appraisal of its finances, Oakham Town Council has confirmed that the officer responsible for managing its books has left the authority.

Following the reported loss of Council funds, and a subsequent review that found 'weakness' in Oakham Town Council's financial practice, the clerk and Oakham Town Council have parted ways.

In December 2022, it was revealed the council had brought in an independent accountant to look into the "transparency" of its finances following an online leak about missing petty cash. The investigation cost the council more than £500.

This decision was made after local writer and former Oakham Town councillor, Martin Brookes, received an anonymous email that petty cash was missing from the Oakham Town Council funds. He published the issue on social media.

Following that the chair of the council, Cllr Sally-Anne Wadsworth, confirmed that funds were unaccounted for, saying "whether it is theft or accounting mistakes hopefully this will be sorted by an outside accountant checking over the books".

The report returned by an independent accountant on 17 Feb 2023 found that there are 'weaknesses' in the council's financial procedures.

It noted that only the clerk was handling finances, when it is common practice for two or more councillors to handle the duty to avoid errors and the potential loss of public funds.

Oakham Town Council have confirmed that the clerk is no longer working for the council, but have not commented further.

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