12 ex-council heads share £1.7m payoff

TWELVE Scots council bosses shared a £1.7million windfall last year as ‘compensation for loss of office’.

While families battle soaring tax bills and cuts to key services, payments of up to £338,000 were made to executives who left through redundancy or retirement.

Seven of the council officials received payments of more than £100,000 – with three paid more than £200,000.

Last night the Taxpayers’ Alliance campaign group said the huge payouts would ‘raise eyebrows’ at a time of pay freezes across the public and private sectors.

Last week the Scottish Daily Mail revealed that the number of local authority chiefs with salaries over £100,000 rose by more than 12 per cent in a year, from 203 to 228.

Of this, 61 officials were paid more than £150,000 – on a par with Prime Minister Theresa May – with packages totalling more than £8.6million for the year 2015-16.

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said: ‘When we saw some of the fat cat council bosses, there were a significant amount based in Scotland – people that are on three times the Prime Minister’s salary in a local authority in the central belt, for example.

‘I think you have to ask, and I think all taxpayers have to ask, what they are getting for their money.’

The new figures, which have been analysed by the Taxpayers’ Alliance, show £1,714,514 was shared by the 12 council executives last year.

This includes one former North Lanarkshire Council employee who was handed £486,000, including a £338,325 payoff. Alistair Crichton had been employed as executive director of finance and customer services.

Overall, North Lanarkshire paid out £947,079 in golden goodbyes in 2015-16 following a ‘restructure’ to reduce the number of senior managers.

Duncan Mackay, former executive director of housing and social work services, received £217,181 when he left, with his remuneration package totalling £356,006.

Kenneth Wilson who had been executive director of environmental services was paid £222,679, and June Murray, former executive director of corporate services received £168,894.

Several councils yesterday attempted to dispute the figures, claiming they were not ‘loss of office compensation’ payments – despite their annual accounts listing them as such. These payments include ‘termination benefits’ such as redundancy costs, pension contributions and ‘ex-gratia payments’.

The City of Edinburgh Council handed out £301,145 between three former employties ees. They include M Boyle, former head of older people and disability services, who received £122,076 in ‘loss of office compensation’ in a £267,993 package.

G Crosby, who was employed as senior manager of disabili- in the capital, received £91,870, while P Campbell, senior manager of older people, was handed £87,199.

Dumfries and Galloway Council paid its former director of community and customer services, Alex Haswell, £126,593 when he left the local authority. William Barker, director of DG First department, received £64,759.

John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘These huge amounts will raise eyebrows. When authorities raise taxes or reduce services in the name of efficiency savings, top boss payoffs cannot be immune from scrutiny.

‘Hard-pressed families want to see their taxes going towards essential frontline services, not on lining the pockets of town hall bosses.’

East Ayrshire council paid Kay Gilmour, head of community support, £112,556 when she left the council last year.

In East Dunbartonshire, J Simmons, former director of integrated health and social care transition, received £97,457.

South Lanarkshire’s former head of regeneration services, J McCaffer, was paid £64,925.

Local authorities were contacted yesterday, but refused to discuss individual cases.

However, several said that they had made reductions in the number of management positions in an effort to save money. Councils need more

power – Page 24

‘Three times the PM’s salary’

‘Lining the pockets’