A report compiled by the TaxPayers Alliance back in February 2020 found that between 2016-19, local authorities paid out £98,059,105,00 in total on 6,980 settlement agreements.
Nevertheless, one local authority that completely failed to disclose any data whatsoever to the TaxPayers Alliance, despite a freedom of information request, was Northumberland County Council. However, a damning report that has just been published following an investigation into the Council has revealed some of the information that was not disclosed, including the fact that the Council paid out £2.2 million on settlement agreements between 2013-19
Settlement Agreements Report
In its report, the TaxPayers Alliance revealed that between 2016-19 local authorities entered into 6,980 settlement agreements overall, with £98,059,105,00 paid out in total.
The statistics
The average payout according to the report was £14,048.59, whilst the highest total amount paid out was by Stoke-on-Trent City Council, who paid out £8,552,433.00 in relation to 371 settlement agreements. This was also the highest number of settlement agreements entered into by any one Council, and included a pay out of £195,463.00 to just one particular individual, the highest known individual pay out by a local authority during the 3 period in question.
The highest average payout during the 3 year period was by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, with an average payout on their settlement agreements of £79,628.00. That Council paid out a total of £398,139.50 on 5 settlement agreements.
£2.2 Million Paid Out By Northumberland County Council
One local authority that completely failed to disclose any details on settlement agreements that it had entered into was Northumberland County Council (hereafter referred to as "NCC"). However, a damning report has just been published by Max Caller following an investigation.
Dysfunctional Council
The report states that: "NCC is currently operating in a dysfunctional way: the behaviours and practices observed and documented fall well below good or acceptable practice and are preventing the effective transaction of business." The report added that in relation to governance and the oversight of appointments, promotions, and exit packages, "regular Local Government procedures and practices have not been universally followed at NCC."
The report further noted that: "Many staff who have left the organisation signed settlement agreements with terms included which meant they could not speak to anybody about the circumstances of their employment with and exit from NCC. In effect Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) clauses, although the council would not use this terminology...The review team noted that a significant number of staff had left NCC under these circumstances, which again reflects on the culture in the organisation."
Staff Treated Poorly
The report added: "Many staff who had left, described in harrowing terms how they had been treated extremely poorly by senior officers at NCC....[At] NCC there have been significantly more staff subject to these agreements that would be normally expected at other councils. Between February 2013 to May 2017, £1.1m had been paid out by the council in settlement figures for staff leaving the organisation. From May 2017 to February 2019 a further £1.1m was paid by the council. This is higher than comparable councils taking into account normal service redesign activity."
Changes
Furthermore, according to a report by ITV news, the "CEO of Northumberland County Council, will be paid £209,000 to leave her role at the end of July [2022] despite the misgivings of several councillors....It brings to an end a two-year saga for the council that has seen a former leader toppled, a damning review of governance at the council and the issue of a section 114 notice relating to the unlawful expenditure of tens of thousands of pounds...[However, a] number of councillors were unhappy. [Nevertheless,] the payout was approved by 38 votes to seven with four abstentions."
One councillor, Cllr John Beynon, stated "Morally, it is wrong. I've heard it is the best way to move forward, and it is the cheapest option." Cllr Richard Wearmouth, the deputy leader, added: "You may be thinking that any chief executive presented with this information would have resigned. It's not going to happen. Dealing with the issues....takes a huge amount of time and has already costs tens, if not hundreds of thousands of pounds. We have been told that will increase significantly if we don't deal with this."
