Council quizzed on £45k payment to officer

The Crewe Chronicle report that three long-serving Cheshire East cabinet members have been asked to explain why a £45K payment was made to a senior officer in 2013 who had been recommended for dismissal.

Labour group leader Sam Corcoran asked the question at Tuesday’s meeting of the cabinet.

It came after the Chronicle exclusively revealed last month that the council had given the pay-out to former head of finance Lisa Quinn in 2013, despite the staffing sub-committee recommending she be dismissed following an investigation into the failed Lyme Green waste recycling project.

The council also confirmed to the Chronicle that the dismissal recommendation ‘was communicated to cabinet at the time’.

Cllr Corcoran asked today: “To those who were cabinet members in 2013, that’s Cllr (Rachel) Bailey, (Janet) Clowes and (Paul) Findlow, why was a £45,000 payment made to a senior officer who had been recommended for dismissal?

He added: “At the time of Lyme Green I asked for an investigation into whether members were misled. I repeat that call now. The DIP (designated independent person employed to investigate the role of council staff in the project) report only concluded that officers did not intentionally mislead members so it is unclear whether members knew what was going on over Lyme Green or not. Now the recipient of the £45,000 payment would have been well placed to answer my question.“

Council leader Rachel Bailey referred the question to the council’s acting monotoring officer, Dan Dickinson.

Mr Dickinson told Cllr Corcoran: “The question touches on concerns of confidential staffing matters so there’ll be a limit as to what can be said in response. I’ll need to go away with the relevant cabinet members and think about what we can and can’t provide you with.”

The Lyme Green scandal, which rocked Cheshire East in 2012, is estimated to have cost the council tax payer more than £1m.

The council had to abort its plans for a waste transfer plant at Lyme Green, which it had started to build without obtaining planning permission from itself. Three top officers – including Lisa Quinn – left their jobs walking away with a combined pay-out of nearly £120,000.

Former deputy chief executive John Nicholson and former borough solicitor Caroline Elwood both resigned in December 2012, in the week the independent investigator’s report into Lyme Green was received by the council.

Mr Nicholson received £45,750 compensation for loss of employment and Ms Elwood, £28,861.

Source: https://www.crewechronicle.co.uk/news/