£500,000 bill as Leeds Council pays suppliers three times over

Councils could save almost 150 million a year if they made sure they did not pay bills twice, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has claimed.

Audits of two large councils uncovered over-payments to suppliers totalling more than 550,000, with invoices showing that some bills had been paid as many as three times.

If repeated across England, the exercise could save an estimated 147 million. In a speech in London, Mr Pickles said the over-payments betrayed a "lack of respect towards public money" and urged councils to keep tighter control on their purse strings.

A project carried out by Leeds City Council and credit experts Experian recovered 500,000 in over-payments, while a similar audit in the north London borough of Islington found that 10 suppliers had been paid twice and two three times, at a total cost to taxpayers of 55,000, he said.

Experian estimates that similar exercises could save councils across England up to 147 million.

Speaking at the headquarters of Tory-run Hammersmith and Fulham Council, Mr Pickles accused town hall bosses of "letting money slip through their fingers".

He said that new requirements for councils to publish any spending over 500 online would help stop duplicate payments.

Some might see the lost money as "small potatoes" in the context of the UK's multi-billion pound deficit, said Mr Pickles.

But he added: "Actually, 147 million would pay the wages of nearly 9,000 care workers.

"And more importantly, it betrays a particular attitude. A lack of respect towards public money. And at every level of government, that has got to change."

Leeds Council later challenged Mr Pickles' figures. A spokesman said: "The figure of 500,000 is incorrect. Leeds City Council has procedures in place to ensure suppliers are paid accurately - which includes sophisticated software to identify any duplicate payments.

"The council made payments of 962m in 2009/10 and of this 299,000 was found to be paid in duplicate - a total of 0.3 per cent of total payments. Of this 97 per cent was recovered from suppliers within that financial year and we are continuing to recover the remaining three per cent."