Plaid Cymru AM Leanne Wood has condemned a deal which gave a senior official at the Wales Audit Office a £107,000 pay-off and guaranteed to pay his pension contributions until his normal retirement age.
The official, Anthony Snow, who was Chief Operating Officer, left the employment of the Welsh Audit Office on September 30, 2009 and less than two months later was appointed Chief Operating Officer at the Financial Reporting Council. He had worked for the WAO or its predecessor organisation since October 1990.
Leanne Wood, the Plaid Cymru AM for South Wales Central, today raised the issue with Business Minister Jane Hutt and called for scrutiny into the management of the Wales Audit Office.
The details of the pay-out to Mr Snow were revealed in the Auditor General’s annual report and accounts for 2009-10.
Leanne Wood said: “There are still many questions that need answering about the running of the WAO. One is: Who authorised a payment of £107,580 and why?
“I also want to know how this ex-employee can continue to receive significant funds from the public purse towards his pension until his normal retirement age – even though he has left the employment of the Wales Audit Office. It beggars belief and clearly this will cost the taxpayer a significant amount of money and the public have a right to know how much was paid out and the justification for it.”
“Is this deal also available to everyone working in the WAO or just to certain posts should they leave and, if so, how many?
“We must have a system where we can scrutinise the workings of the Wales Audit Office as they scrutinise the activities and spending of other public bodies.”
The Auditor General’s accounts show that Mr Snow received between £65,000 and £70,000 covering the seven months between April 1, 2009 and November, 2009. The total cash equivalent transfer value of his pension pot was said to be £994,000 and the total accrued pension and lump sump at March 31, 2010, was between £60,000 and £65,000.
Last December Leanne Wood obtained information under the Freedom of Information Act revealing that five managers at the office of the Auditor General have been subject to disciplinary or investigative action following complaints by staff.
The Plaid Cymru AM was told that its senior staff had been given advice or asked to attend courses about workplace bullying after staff allegations.
The complaints had been lodged by staff between April 1, 2005, and October 31, 2009.
The WAO also confirmed that two independent investigations had been carried out at the request of the WAO as a result of complaints but they refused to detail the recommendations, saying that they were exempt under the Freedom of Information Act.
Earlier in 2009 a request made by Leanne Wood under the Freedom of Information Act found that in the last three financial years nine individual employee disputes had been registered at the office of the Auditor General. In addition, two joint grievances were also registered in 2008-09.
Over the three years there had been six complaints of “detriment arising from failure to follow proper procedures”, five complaints of bullying, three of detrimental change in work provided and two of unlawful discrimination.
The Wales Audit Office told Leanne Wood that £173,904 in legal and HR costs had been racked up including dealing with employment disputes and changes in policies as a result of employment disputes.
They also revealed that £125,706 was paid out in settlement agreements with a further £45,542 in pension payments as a result of employment disputes.
