Cameron House Hotel, golf course at Loch Lomond and fine dining restaurant dishes with double helpings, fine wine and champagne experienced by West Dunbartonshire Council officials.
By Bill Heaney
Commutation payments which are leaving deals to public officials in organisations such as West Dunbartonshire Council are being done in secret away from the eyes of the press and public.
Yesterday the subject of so-called “golden goodbyes” were raised in the Scottish Parliament by LibDem Jamie Greene MSP who challenged First Minister John Swinney over “a growing trend of reward for failure” in settlement agreements for senior public executives.
As well as the £4 million shelled out by the Scottish Government on public-sector pay-offs last year, Mr Greene highlighted that there have been 300 public sector pay-offs over the last five years, including officials who left their posts in West Dunbartonshire after a row over officials dining out and playing golf with contractors.
Nationally, these payments have cost a total of £10 million in public money and a third of them came with confidentiality clauses attached to them.
Jamie Greene MSP said: “£4 million of public money was spent on public sector pay-offs between 2023 and 2024. The year before it was £1.5 million.
“In fact, over the last five years, there have been 300 such settlements, costing £10 million of public money. And a third of those came with confidentiality clauses attached to them.
“My primary concern about all of this is what seems to be a growing trend of reward for failure amongst senior public executives, be it Ferguson Marine, the Water Industry Commission, the NHS, the SQA.
“Well-paid civil servants are walking away from failure with a large cheque in return for a gagging order, while those at the bottom of the pay ladder are struggling.
“So can I ask the Scottish Government if they think these huge pay-offs are appropriate and when, First Minister, will we see an end to the secrecy around these deals as well?”
The First Minister told MSPs: “A review of the severance [payment] policy for Scotland concluded in 2023. Its findings were reflected in robust controls being put in place to scrutinise expenditure in line with the Scottish public finance manual.
“Settlement agreements address specific employment issues in individual organisations, and the number and nature of those can vary across sectors. It should be noted that settlement agreements are used rarely and only in very limited circumstances.
“My primary concern here is that there seems to be a growing trend of reward for failure among senior public sector executives, whether at Ferguson Marine, the Water Industry Commission for Scotland, the national health service or the Scottish Qualifications Authority.
“Well-paid civil servants are walking away from failure with a large cheque in return for a gagging order, while those at the bottom of the pay ladder are struggling.
“Does the Scottish Government think that such huge pay-offs are appropriate? When will we see an end to the secrecy around such deals?”
West Dunbartonshire Council have flatly refused to give any information on deals of this kind to The Dumbarton Democrat.
“I have a lot of sympathy with Mr Greene’s point that such arrangements should not be made in response to failure; they should not be.
“There should be proper accountability in the way in which they are exercised, which is why the Scottish public finance manual is constructed so that that point is central to decision making.
“The figures vary from year to year, but it is important that it is recognised that we have rules on how such agreements can be put in place.
“Those rules must be rigorously applied in all circumstances, and in all the Government’s actions there must be a culture of delivering on the expectations of ministers and the public.”
West Dunbartonshire Council continue to refuse to comment on the “golden goodbyes” that were paid following the departure of officials after the golf and fine dining with contractors scandal.