AUDIT WALES published its long-awaited report on the departure of former Council CEO Ian Westley on Thursday (January 13).
Audit Wales released the report in the public interest due to what it identified as serious governance failures at Pembrokeshire County Council.
Under the Settlement Agreement terms, the Chief Executive received a termination payment of £95,000, and his employment ended on November 30 2020.
The report found that the Council failed to properly record why the Chief Executive left and why the Chief Executive received a termination payment.
Auditor-General Adrian Crompton said: “Pembrokeshire Council has work to do to ensure that its governance arrangements are sufficiently robust and to regain public trust.
“However, the steps the Council has since taken to improve its governance and decision-making processes, and the leadership already provided by its new Chief Executive, gives me confidence that the Council will act on the recommendations in my report.T .”
LEADER DID NOT GET RIGHT ADVICE
The report says Cllr Simpson failed to grasp the legal situation because internal advice was of poor quality.
The Head of HR, Ceri Davies, sent Ian Westley legally privileged information that Mr Westley had no right to see regarding the Council’s negotiating strategy and provided him with an insight into confidential legal advice.
Mr Davies, who is seconded to the regional education consortium ERW until April 1, faces a warm reception when – or if – he returns to work at the Council.
The Auditor casts significant doubt on “evidence” provided by Mr Davies, particularly the content of several notes prepared by the Head of HR.
The Auditor repeatedly observes that he doubts how much faith he has in the Head of HR.
Officers either overlooked or ignored procedural red flags that should’ve prompted them to take external advice on their conclusions.
Worse, when former Head of Legal Claire Incledon raised an important issue regarding the tax treatment of Mr Westley’s payment, her concerns went unaddressed.
BULLYING CLAIMS DON’T ADD UP
Crucially, the report finds that Mr Westley’s after the fact interpretation of his pay-off as compensation for bullying does not stack up.
The Auditor finds no evidence that Mr Westley’s payment was anything other than a severance agreement between employer and employee. He notes a planned corporate restructuring exercise was an opportune time for Mr Westley to leave.
The report observes that if Mr Westley wanted to complain of bullying and seek protection due to a whistle-blower, he was more than aware of the procedure to do so.
Mr Westley’s failure to record a formal grievance and the Auditor’s conclusions regarding that issue do not hide occasionally difficult relationships between officers and councillors.
The report expressly rejects Mr Westley’s assertion that the £95,000 payment represented compensation for his being bullied.
That leaves Jamie Adams and Stephen Joseph with very little wriggle room.
Faced with findings of fact, they are not in a position to contradict the Auditor’s conclusions.
LEADER TOO EAGER TO REACH EXIT AGREEMENT
Cllr Simpson does not come out of the report with his reputation unscathed.
His loyalty to his Cabinet shines through the report. It is possible that, so closely was her working with Cabinet members at the time, he allowed them too much leeway dealing with senior staff.
However, there is nothing in the report to support Jamie Adams’s naked attempt to blame the leader and Cabinet for the situation with the former CEO.The report suggests that Cllr Simpson’s wish to avoid a public confrontation led him to set aside his better judgement to seal a deal at all costs.
The report suggests that not only did Cllr Simpson want to avoid a public confrontation but took the decision to structure the agreement in a way he believed would not require further scrutiny of it.
His belief was bolstered by poor quality advice from senior officers upon whom he should’ve been able to rely. David Simpson did a botched job based on botched advice from officers who, putting it generously, got several key calls wrong.
NEXT STEPS
Ceri Davies’s position must surely hang by a thread following the damning conclusions about his conduct and honesty as a witness.
It beggars belief that the Head of HR shared private legal information with Mr Westley related to the former’s own responsibilities to his employer.
The Auditor General’s report, other associated reports and an action plan to address recommendations will be considered by a meeting of the Council on February 1.
