MORE than a year after it was announced 11 members of Dorset Council's staffhad been sacked for malpractice and possible fraud and criminal prosecutions 'were likely' the council remains tight-lipped about what has happened to them.

The 11 interim officers oversaw health and safety work at dozens of Dorset Council buildings and concerning issues arose when the council's recently elected Lib-Dem administration began to ask questions and launched an investigation.

Their dismissal was announced in June last year.

The council announced the subsequent external audit revealed the possibility of potential fraud and over-charging within one of its departments where a series of financial rules were not followed.

At the time deputy council leader Cllr Richard Biggs confirmed there was a police investigation into some individuals who had worked at the council and said that prosecutions were 'quite likely.'

Since then, the council has made a number of announcements about improved and more secure procedures but little has been said about what has happened to the 11 'offenders'.

Nub News asked the council for an update on possible prosecutions and asked what had happened to the staff members concerned, but the response, received today (Thursday, 10 September) was tight-lipped.

A spokesperson for the council said: "As the Dorset Police investigation remains live, we are unable to comment on or provide information relating to that investigation.

"In response to your question about actions taken following the initial audit findings, Dorset Council has previously issued a number of public statements setting out the steps taken to strengthen governance, contract management and financial oversight.

"These can be found here:

30 May '25 - https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/news/audit-spurs-dorset-council-to-strengthen-contract-and-spending-oversight?p_l_back_url=%2Fnewsroom%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dswap%2Binvestigation

28 July '25 - https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/news/dorset-council-pledges-accountability-and-improvement-in-response-to-investigation-reports?p_l_back_url=%2Fnewsroom%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dswap%2Binvestigation

14 Nov '25 - https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/news/dorset-council-takes-firm-action-to-strengthen-governance-and-financial-controls-?p_l_back_url=%2Fnewsroom%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dswap%2Binvestigation

"There have also been a number of public updates on the council's ongoing improvement work through meetings of the Audit and Governance Committee."