Almost a third of people who drive professionally for Dorset Council in some departments are not having their training checked on a regular basis.

An internal auditor’s report has also found there was “no corporate overview of mandatory training to ensure that all officers have completed the required training within the required timescales.”

It said that an analysis of all inspection data for Highways and Dorset Travel indicated that these inspections are not being carried out within the set timeframe in over 30% of instances, although a snapshot review of Dorset Waste services found no missing checks.

Lyme Regis councillor Daryl Turner, who has experience of Transport Operators Licences, warned that unless the council tightens up its procedures it could put at risk its ability to operate fleet services.

“If it was lost, or curtailed, it could have a significant impact on this council…it is a significant risk” he said.

The council’s audit and governance committee was told that an extra staff member is now expected to be employed to ensure compliance with the Transport Operators Licence.

An internal audit reports to the committee said there has been inconsistent approaches in some areas where the council operates vehicles: “Individual driving performance is not being monitored consistently across, or within. the different services and there is no framework in place for supervisors to discuss a driver’s performance to highlight good performance and identify areas for improvement. There is no corporate overview of mandatory training to ensure that all officers have completed the required training within the required timescales,” said the report.

The committee heard that a detailed action plan has been agreed and all actions are due to be implemented by the end of July this year.