Council criticised for spending more than £1 million on redundancies last year

Twm Owen, Local Democracy Reporter

A south Wales council has funded more than £1 million in redundancy costs during the past year, it has been revealed.

The figure includes more than £200,000 spent making seven teachers across Torfaen redundant.

A councillor who had asked for the figures when the borough council agreed its annual budget in early March, which included a 3.95 per cent increase in council tax, accused the ruling Labour group of a lack of “transparency” over the number of staff it was shedding.

Independent councillor Giles Davies was provided with the number of staff who’d been made redundant, and the cost to the public purse, via email on April 2 a month after he asked for the figure covering the past 12 months at the March 3 budget setting meeting, when he was promised a written response.

The email, from the council’s top finance officer, Andrew Lovegrove, revealed total redundancy costs amounted to £1,104,459.

That included the seven teachers made redundant at a cost of £231,000.

The council made 34 posts redundant at a cost of £873,459.

Cllr Davies, who represents Abersychan, said: “I think they should be more upfront. I know they’ve got a right to manage but that type of information should be put out to the public who should know where every penny goes. It wasn’t really in the report and they need to be more transparent and open with exactly what’s happening.”

He also said he was “disappointed” as budget, which included a pay rise for more than 1,000 lower paid council staff such teaching assistants, school canteen workers and bin lorry drivers, had been described as a “budget for staff”. He said: “I was shocked to see how much was spent on laying staff members off.”

Schools were also provided with £4.5m in additional funding for 2067/27 and the outgoing financial year.

The council’s deputy leader, Croesyceiliog Labour councillor, Richard Clark, said councillors were provided with information throughout the year as the budget was developed and said they all had opportunities to question proposals.

He said: “The budget is a process it isn’t one day. There were scrutiny meetings and members events with the opportunity to ask questions. Cllr Davies, and anybody, had the opportunity to comment, question and seek further information rather than waiting for the eleventh hour.”

Cllr Clark also said it was “always the position” the council wouldn’t be in a position to “pick up funding” for grant funded posts, which backbench councillors had raised during scrutiny meetings.

No details of which posts were made redundant, or from which departments, were provided in the response to Cllr Davies however the council did close a training scheme for young people who were not in education or employment.

At the March 3 council meeting Cllr Davies had said: “This budget is being sold to everybody as rewarding staff for hard work, by giving them pay increases, but it was also alluded to about redundancy numbers. I just wondered how much have we spent on redundancy costs this year, how many staff members have we actually lost and had to fund over the last 12 months.”