Agenda item

Statutory Recommendation in Respect of Settlement Agreements

Meeting of South Somerset District Council, Thursday 22nd September 2022 6.30 pm (Item 66.)

Decision:

RESOLVED:	That Full Council agreed to:-
	a.	accept the statutory recommendation set out in the Auditor’s Annual Report on South Somerset District Council for 2020-21;
	b.	adopt the Procedure Note for Officers set out in the Appendix to the report with immediate effect;
	c.	delegate authority to the Chief Executive to notify the auditor of these decisions and publish a notice approved by the auditor that summarises them on its website;
	d.	delegate authority to the Monitoring Officer to make any necessary amendments to the Council’s Constitution to ensure the following specific provisions contained in the Statutory Guidance on Special Severance Payments are clearly stated: · payments below £20,000 will be approved in accordance with the Council’s scheme of delegation · payments of £20,000 and above, but below £100,000 must be signed off by the Head of Paid Service (Chief Executive), with a clear record of the Leader’s approval endorsed on the report · payments of £100,000 and above must be approved by a vote of full council.
Reason:	To inform Council of a statutory recommendation made by the auditor and to agree what action to take.

(Voting: 25 in favour, 0 against, 8 abstentions)

Minutes:

The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Legal Services introduced the report and drew Members attention to the recommendations which he said related to the previous Agenda item 8: the 2020/21 Auditor's Annual Report. He said the report clarified existing statutory guidance along with parts of the Constitution and he proposed the recommendations to Council. They were subsequently seconded by the Chairman of the Audit Committee.

In response to a question, the Monitoring Officer confirmed that there was a distinction in the two reports between the recommendation to ‘discuss’ and the proposal to ‘consider’ but the report was open for discussion by Full Council.

During discussion, the following points were made by Members:-

· Despite having processes in place, the previous Chief Executive overrode them.

· The non-disclosure agreement must have been drawn up by someone at SSDC.

· Was the payment made lawfully, without an audit trail? It should be fully investigated and discussed and may be put to an independent enquiry.

The Leader of Council clarified that she had not been made aware of the arrangement by the previous Chief Executive until some months after the event.

The Chief Executive confirmed that the transaction had been reported in the revenue budget outturn for 2020/21 which had first been considered by Scrutiny Committee on 29 June 2021 and then by District Executive on 01 July 2021. The transaction related to a settlement agreement for an employee leaving the organisation. This was an efficiency of service decision and it was normal for the terms of the agreement to be kept confidential. The name of the employee would not be disclosed as this was a legal obligation.

The Auditor for Grant Thornton confirmed that having reviewed the management responses he was satisfied that they addressed the concerns raised during the audit process and the recommendations proposed.

The recommendations, having been proposed and seconded, were confirmed by 25 in favour, 0 against and 8 abstentions.

RESOLVED:	That Full Council agreed to:-
	a.	accept the statutory recommendation set out in the Auditor’s Annual Report on South Somerset District Council for 2020-21;
	b.	adopt the Procedure Note for Officers set out in the Appendix to the report with immediate effect;
	c.	delegate authority to the Chief Executive to notify the auditor of these decisions and publish a notice approved by the auditor that summarises them on its website;
	d.	delegate authority to the Monitoring Officer to make any necessary amendments to the Council’s Constitution to ensure the following specific provisions contained in the Statutory Guidance on Special Severance Payments are clearly stated: · payments below £20,000 will be approved in accordance with the Council’s scheme of delegation · payments of £20,000 and above, but below £100,000 must be signed off by the Head of Paid Service (Chief Executive), with a clear record of the Leader’s approval endorsed on the report · payments of £100,000 and above must be approved by a vote of full council.
Reason:	To inform Council of a statutory recommendation made by the auditor and to agree what action to take.