Mears CLP is the only company bidding for the contract, which was set to be awarded at a meeting on Thursday.

The Times reports that the decision has been postponed because an internal audit found that staff at Mears LLP, a subsidiary of Mears CLP, manipulated data on the time taken to complete repairs.

A spokesperson for the council said: “The report considering the award of the housing and corporate property maintenance contract has been withdrawn from the agenda for the council meeting on March 28.

“An updated report will be submitted for consideration of the council at a later date, taking into account the new information presented within the report from the chief officer (audit and risk). That further consideration is anticipated to be in the early part of May.”