Call for a Northumberland County Council annual report on exit payouts following £1million scandal

Northumberland County Council was found to have made six payouts to officers between 2017 and 2022 totalling more than £1million that did not have the proper authorisation from councillors.

A file on the subsequent internal investigation was handed to Northumbria Police in February, but by August officers had concluded that the threshold for criminal activity had not been met.

The council’s top lawyer suggested that an error in the council’s pay policy had been responsible for the error – and that those errors had now been corrected.

Speaking at a meeting of the council’s audit committee, Coun Nick Oliver called for an annual report into any exit payments and recruitment processes that met the threshold for council approval to come before the committee.

He felt this would ensure the correct processes were being followed.

The council’s head of finance, Jan Willis, clarified the request. She said: “I think what Coun Oliver is suggesting is, every year this committee receives a report providing the assurance that the provisions set out in the pay policy document around appointments and exit payments are complied with.”

Coun Oliver replied: “That sums it up perfectly.”

The council’s head of internal audit, Kevin McDonald, said the report would be built into his department’s programme of work – but added it would likely be added to an existing report rather than an entirely separate one.