INCOMPETENCE and mismanagement in the private sector is invariably, though not always, met with the sack sooner rather than later.

Generally the same cannot be said for the public sector. It would be wrong to prejudge the outcome of the inquiry into what has gone in the Dorset Waste Partnership or the suspension of its director. The huge overspend was already in the public domain.

Now it emerges that £1.5m was spent on hiring vehicles without the proper financial processes being put in place.

And also alarming is the revelation that some refuse lorries were sent out without their details appearing on the national database of insured vehicles.

A report by Dorset County Council will be made public today. DCC has taken the sensible decision to pre-empt the report, though the reputational damage will hardly be lessened by that move. After the school transport controversy and school meals debacle, it may be that this particular issue is one where accountability is a key outcome.

It would make a change.