Council chiefs have refused to confirm whether money for a tree planting project in Burntwood that never took place has been paid back.
Staffordshire County Council awarded £924 to Cllr Thomas Loughbrough-Rudd prior to his election earlier this year.
But after it emerged no trees had been planted or even purchased, he was suspended for six months by the controlling Conservative group at the authority.
Earlier this month, county council officials confirmed that Cllr Loughbrough-Rudd had been ordered to repay the money in full.
But a spokesperson has told Lichfield Live that they could not reveal whether or not that had now happened.
“We are carrying out an internal audit review of grants given under the Climate Change Fund and will report on the findings in due course.
“It would be inappropriate to make any further comment at this stage.”
Staffordshire County Council spokesperson
Cllr Loughbrough-Rudd – who is now sitting as an independent member of the county council – has previously said he was “deeply embarrassed” by the incident.
But he has insisted he will not resign from the county council.
“I intend to stay on as an independent councillor – and I won’t rule out remaining so for the rest of my term as a councillor.
“Resigning – at least from the county council – is something I would not consider.
“One advantage of my current predicament is that for the next few months I will have the ability to express myself more freely and frequently than I have done before on matters in my division of Burntwood North.”
Cllr Thomas Loughbrough-Rudd, Staffordshire County Council
