William Eichler 02 February 2024

Council officer hands police file on £1m pay-outs

Council officer hands police file on £1m pay-outs   image
Image: John Gomez / Shutterstock.com.

A file relating to allegedly unlawful exit payments to managers at Northumberland County Council has been handed to police, Northumbria Police has confirmed.

Last July, a review of six severance payments totalling more than £1m made by Northumberland CC to senior officers were declared ‘unlawful’ by the council’s section 151 officer.

Jan Willis found the payments, which were made between May 2017 and May 2022, were ‘not subject to scrutiny’ or approval by councillors.

In November, the matter was referred to the police.

On Wednesday, monitoring officer Stephen Gerrard informed the council’s audit committee that he has provided the police with a ‘substantial file’ for consideration and said it would be ‘inappropriate’ to elaborate any further.

A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: ‘We can confirm we received correspondence from Northumberland County Council on January 25. We are currently reviewing that material.’

The council has been contacted for comment.

SIGN UP
For your free daily news bulletin
Highways jobs

Senior Sustainable Travel & Road Safety Officer (Deputy Manager)

Powys County Council
£39 481 - £41 177
The role provides direct line management responsibility for the Road Safety Team Llandrindod Wells, Powys
Recuriter: Powys County Council

Waste & Recycling Supervisor

Powys County Council
£35 570 - £37 563
Waste and Recycling is collected from every resident and in Powys we are one of the best performing Councils in Wales Abermule, Montgomery
Recuriter: Powys County Council

Head of Property, Assets & Major Projects

Fenland District Council
HAY 4 - £69,448 to £73,978, Car Allowance - £7,353 per annum – hence Remuneration package £74-78k (higher end of the salary)
This is a rare opportunity to combine strategic leadership, commercial asset management March, Cambridgeshire
Recuriter: Fenland District Council

Property Solicitor

North Yorkshire Council
£39,481- £53,051 pro rata per annum
The Legal Service is part of Legal Elections and Democratic Services within the Central Services Directorate. Scarborough, North Yorkshire
Recuriter: North Yorkshire Council

Property Solicitor

North Yorkshire Council
£39,481- £53,051 pro rata per annum
The Legal Service is part of Legal Elections and Democratic Services within the Central Services Directorate. Northallerton, North Yorkshire
Recuriter: North Yorkshire Council
Linkedin Banner