Will the Minister give an update on steps taken by Welsh Government to prevent large sums of public funds from being spent on the wages of senior executive officers who are suspended from local authority jobs?
It is a matter for local authorities, as employers, to make decisions about pay that are appropriate to local circumstances and which deliver value for money for local taxpayers.
Action has been taken to bring in greater transparency and other controls including:
• extension of the role of the Independent Remuneration Panel (the Panel) which now requires councils to consult them about proposals to change the pay of chief executives;
• requirement for a ‘principal council to advertise publicly a Chief Officer role where the salary is £100,000 or more per annum;
• the requirement for a council’s annual pay policy statement to include policies for the financial year relating to the remuneration of its chief officer;
• publication of Transparency of Senior Remuneration in the Devolved Welsh Public Sector Principles and Guidance which aims to ensure all devolved Welsh public sector bodies publish certain information relating to the remuneration of their most senior staff in an easily accessible and transparent manner.
The Welsh Government intends to review arrangements for dealing with disciplinary action involving certain senior officers set out in the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (Wales) Regulations 2006. The review will consider the limitations that arise from the law itself and where difficulties arise through non compliance with legislative requirements.