Glasgow Council hires KC to investigate early retirement deals for former senior officials

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Glasgow council is hiring a KC to investigate exit packages for former senior staff worth hundreds of thousands of pounds. Scrutiny of the early retirement deals will take place amid an angry backlash over the local authority plan to axe 450 teaching posts.A top lawyer will be drafted in after concerns were raised by SNP council leader Susan Aitken, city treasurer Ricky Bell and Glasgow Labour chief George Redmond.

Redmond said: “Full disclosure is a must.”Glasgow council, which has been run by the SNP for a decade, has made big cuts in recent years to plug budget black holes.Signature buildings like the city chambers were sold off to other parts of the council, waves of redundancies have been pushed through and services cut.But despite the huge pressure on the city finances, the council’s 2023/24 accounts show two senior staff were given six figure early retirement packages.Annemarie O’Donnell, the former council chief executive who retired this year, received a £357,845 “in year” contribution to her pension.

Elaine Galletly, former Director of Legal and Administration, received a £223,065 pension contribution and £59,971 for “compensation for loss of office”.It is understood the council’s focus relates to early retirement packages for four people, not just O’Donnell and Galletly.A briefing by current chief executive Susanne Miller outlines the concerns over the deals.

She wrote that the council had received requests for information about loss of office payments and in-year pension contributions.Miller continued: “Concerns regarding these payments have also been raised with me by the Leader of the Council and the Treasurer who were unaware of these payments until the publication of the 2023/2024 Annual Account