Statement on historical senior officers pay
Following recent speculation in the media regarding the Council’s actions relating to “secret £1m of payouts” Cllr David Blackwell, Leader of Castle Point Borough Council, said:
“This is a situation which this administration has inherited. Since taking office we have striven to ensure transparency in all areas of the Council’s business. Internal Audit found issues with how the previous administration paid its most senior officers and the failures in governance that allowed it. These issues are not a secret. They have been reported publicly over the last 2 years and the Council has published all legally permissible information. The Council is not allowed to publish information which would contravene data protection law. We have not published information which is subject to legal professional privilege because to do so would prejudice the Council’s position in relation to legal action.
“The Council has worked transparently with its External Auditors throughout this time. Their decision to disclaim the accounts rather than to make a Public Interest Report reflects that all the information that a Public Interest Report could determine as being in the public interest is already in the public domain.
“We agreed an Action Plan with our External Auditors, which is subject to the oversight of the Audit & Governance Committee which receives reports on progress against Internal Audit recommendations and the Action Plan in the Annual Governance Statement – most recently on 18 March 2025.
“In addition, following legal advice, we have agreed to pursue recovery of some of the money.”
Cllr Warren Gibson, Deputy Leader of Castle Point Borough Council, said:
“The decisions taken by the Council since this administration has been in control have all been about dealing with this historical mismanagement we inherited from the previous Conservative administration – in all areas of service including senior management pay and remuneration. It has been our job to put this right through the Council’s transformation programme, the success of which has been acknowledged by the Local Government Association. LGA Corporate Peer Challenge Final Report
“Like my fellow councillors and residents, I am deeply angered by what happened in the past.
“We have already put in place procedures to ensure this cannot happen again at Castle Point Borough Council.”
Information which is already in the public domain on this issue can be found here:
1. 24 July 2023 Audit Committee
2. 27 February 2024 Staff Appointments & Review Panel
4. 26 June 2024 Audit and Governance Committee