Corby Borough Council

The audit was carried out during a period of transition as the Service had begun to install new software to replace its outdated electronic data administration system. At the time of the audit the old database was no longer in use and the new system was not fully configured to provide information on the full range of food law enforcement activities carried out by the Authority.

Due to the limitations of the previous software and its inability to provide all of the data required, the Service had relied largely on extensive and time-consuming manual checks of hardcopy records in order to compile and collate the information needed to complete the Agency returns.

The audit highlighted a number of significant inconsistencies in the Authority�s returns relating to the figures submitted for planned premises inspections and the reported figures for inspections achieved. The audit findings suggested that, in general, due inspections had been carried out but that compilation and transcription errors had arisen when completing the monitoring forms.

Inaccuracies in the returns were also identified in other activity areas examined. A misunderstanding of the Agency�s guidance on completing the relevant forms was a further contributory factor in these errors.

The task of compiling information for the Authority�s quarterly and annual returns by repeated reference to hardcopy files had entailed some checking of the accuracy of the information held on the Service�s records. It was evident, however, that this had not been an effective means of identifying and remedying all of the issues raised by the audit and of ensuring that valid returns were submitted.

The new data administration system will simplify this process and should resolve many of the problems highlighted by this audit. It is important, however, that the Service maintains an appropriate level of checks on the accuracy of data input and an effective validation check of the returns. These measures will need to be fully reflected in the Authority�s documented monitoring procedures.