PLANNING officials at the Town Hall have again been criticised by a report that says too little has been done to address concerns over fraud and corruption.

The scrutiny committee will meet tonight, Tuesday, to consider the Annual District Auditor's letter which has for the second year in a row warned that although there has been no evidence of bad practice - there is potential for accusations of fraud and corruption to surface.

The review criticised records of meetings for being unclear and said there was sometimes little evidence that meetings between the planning department and developers involved more than one officer as they are required to.

It added that further clarity is needed to protect officers from any scope for allegations of improper conduct.

Alan Stephenson, strategic director of environment, said improvements were being put in place that would exceed the best practice recommended.

He added: "The new processes will introduce new monitoring and performance management measures, which will be reviewed with the help of the council's own internal audit team.

"The change will not be a one off event - it is part of ongoing improvements to the service.

"In terms of establishing a formal and auditable record of how the council handles a planning application, Warrington will operate a process as clear and transparent as any other council in the country."