A LONG-awaited report into misspent taxpayer money has been delayed by a further six months.

More than £300,000 went missing in 2014 and 2015 when an unnamed subcontractor of Brighton and Hove City Council’s property contractor Mears overcharged for housing repairs.

But a full report into the scandal, due to come before the council’s audit and standards committee yesterday, has been kicked another six months down the line.

Conservative group leader Tony Janio said he had “always” been against awarding the contract as a monopoly in the first place and said he hoped troubling initial suggestions would not be borne out by the full report.

He said it would have been “preferable” to see the report and added: “I appreciate this is a complex issue but the only way this is going to be resolved is to make all the information available for councillors to scrutinise.”

Committee chairman Councillor Joe Miller, Conservative, told last night’s meeting at Hove Town Hall: “I look forward to the report coming to audits and standards in January.”

An internal council audit published from November 2016 confirmed the discrepancies.

They were first reported in The Argus 11 months before that.

Last night’s meeting agenda states: “The examination of these issues has proved to be a complex exercise and has taken much longer than originally envisaged.

“We understand that the housing service has been working with Mears to more clearly understand and resolve these and address any ongoing matters.”

The council anticipates the inspections will be completed “by the end of September” – ie within ten days – but the report will not come out until the next audit meeting in January next year.

It is however possible that the delay is good news.

The Argus understands that improvements in the council’s auditing processes may have delayed the process as a stronger team with higher standards seeks to recoup more money and from longer ago.

A Brighton and Hove City Council spokeswoman said: “We are working with Mears to look at discrepancies we’ve identified with the recording of some electrical jobs.

“We will be reporting back to the audit and standards committee in January 2018 once the review is completed.”