Council chiefs pocket golden goodbyes of £630million

SCOTS council bosses were paid nearly £630million in golden goodbyes over the past six years – despite local authorities struggling to fund vital services.

While families continue to battle soaring tax bills and cuts to services, senior council employees and executives have been given thousands of pounds in severance deals.

Six packages were agreed every day last year, at a cost of £78million – with the average pay-off totalling around £40,000 since 2011.

The figures showed the true cost of golden goodbyes as it was revealed council tax bills will rise every year for the next five years. Many local authorities plan to raise tax rates by a further 3 per cent in April.

Many say they are being forced to hike council tax bills due to the plummeting budget they get from the Scottish Government.

Yesterday, Scottish Government local government spokesman Alexander Stewart said many would be ‘horrified’ at the scale of golden goodbyes. The figures, published by Audit Scotland, show 15,000 severance deals have been struck by councils for outgoing staff since 2011-12.

Over this period, the average pay off was £40,000 with the total bill reaching £627,184,000.

The watchdog also revealed six deals were handed out every day last year, at a total cost of £78,125,000.

It also said councils are facing £14.5billion of debt – with many set to use up much of their financial reserves in the next three years.

Mr Stewart said: ‘People will be horrified that hundreds of millions of pounds have been used in this way.

‘Everyone understands the need for councils to become more efficient, and reducing the headcount in certain departments may be a way of doing that. But the average payout is £40,000, which means some senior staff will have been getting golden goodbyes to make the eyes water.

‘In some cases contracts signed long ago may have dictated an overly-generous payment, but this is something local authorities need to clamp down on.’

Earlier this year it was revealed that 12 Scots councils bosses had shared a £1.7million windfall in 2016 as ‘compensation for loss of office’.

This included former executive director of housing and social work

‘Needless waste’

services at North Lanarkshire Council, Duncan Mackay, who received £217,181 when he left, with a total remuneration of £356,006.

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

A spokesman for local authority umbrella body COSLA said the figures must be viewed in context, adding: ‘Many of them will be as a result of streamlining in line with workforce planning.’

But Mr Stewart said: ‘There’s no point trying to make efficiency savings in one area while millions are needlessly wasted in another. It’s no wonder some councils are burning through their cash reserves just to keep their head above water.’

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