More than £1.5m spent by Northumberland County Council on redundancy packages

The Local Government Association said councils across the country had been forced to reduce their workforce sizes due to budget cuts, despite dramatic increases in the volume and range of services provided.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities figures show 76 people were laid off by Northumberland County Council in 2021-22, at an average of £20,756 per person.

It means the council paid a total of £1,577,476 in exit packages last year – down from £1,730,750 in 2020-21.

This was also below the £2,567,940 paid out in 2019-20, before the coronavirus pandemic.

The county council spent 38% less on redundancy packages than in 2014-15 – when it let go of 141 employees at a total cost of £2.6 million – despite exit payments typically being higher.

Across England, the total amount spent on exit payments fell for the fifth-successive year, from £250 million in 2020-21 to £210 million last year.

However, more staff were laid off than the year before, 9,744 compared to 9,454.

Andrew Western, chairman of the LGA's resources board, said councils had made layoffs in order to manage their budgets and avoid further pressure on taxpayers.

"Without funding from the government to meet the pressure of an accelerating National Living Wage on top of soaring energy and other costs, more redundancies are likely, exacerbating the capacity crisis that is already acute in some areas and impacting the delivery of services to the public," Mr Western added.

The data also shows the average exit payment across England fell from £27,000 to £22,000 in the year to March.

In July, Northumberlnd County Council chief executive Daljit Lally walked away with a six-figure payout, bringing to an end a series of disputes and a damning review of how her authority was run.

She was paid £209,000, which included a £75,000 payment to settle an employment tribunal claim for "injury to feelings" and £40,000 on account of "injury or disability", following a protracted and public dispute with leading councillors.

And last month the council's director of transformation, Allison Joynson, requested voluntary redundancy from her position, which means she will be paid a total package of £214,063.98.