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

Programme Support Officer

Durham County Council
Grade 5 £26,403 - £28,598 (Pay award pending)
Help to Shape the Creative Heartbeat of County Durham’s New Landmark    Opening in summer 2026, The Light will be County Durham’s newest cultural dest Durham
Recuriter: Durham County Council

GRT Site Warden

Durham County Council
Grade 2 £24,796 - £25,185
We are looking to recruit a Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) Site Warden to support the day-to-day management of our sites. This is an important role i Durham
Recuriter: Durham County Council

Property Assistant

Durham County Council
£25,583 to £26,824 p.a. (Grade 4) pay award pending
An opportunity has arisen within Corporate Property and Land for a full time, permanent Property Assistant based at Green Lane Council Offices, Spenny Spennymoor
Recuriter: Durham County Council

Assistant Support Services Officer

Durham County Council
£28,142 to £31,022 p.a. (Grade 6) pay award pending
An opportunity has arisen within Corporate Property and Land for two full time, permanent Assistant Support Services Officers based at Meadowfield Dep Durham
Recuriter: Durham County Council

Portfolio Office Support Officer

Durham County Council
Grade 9 £35,412 - £39,152
We’re looking for a motivated and highly organised Portfolio Office Support Officer to join our Funding & Programme team.   This role is temporary unt Durham
Recuriter: Durham County Council
Linkedin Banner