Local Assembly Member Paul Davies believes Pembrokeshire County Council’s Chief Executive, Bryn Parry Jones should temporarily step aside while police investigate the pension payments that he received.
The police investigation follows the publication of reports by the Wales Audit Office into what it believes to be unlawful payments to senior officers at Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire local authorities.
Mr Davies said:
“The Wales Audit Office reports are clear and straightforward – the Auditor General believes payments to Pembrokeshire County Council’s Chief Executive were unlawful. Taxpayers in Pembrokeshire rightly expect the Council to spend public money in a cautious manner and that senior staff are remunerated appropriately and within the law. People across Pembrokeshire are increasingly concerned at these events and I believe that it is only right and proper for the Chief Executive to step aside pending police inquiries. This would of course be automatic in most other professions.”
He added:
“It’s important that this issue is not used as a political football to bash Pembrokeshire and to therefore push ahead with controversial reorganisation plans for local authorities across Wales. Pembrokeshire’s reputation and its unique brand must be protected throughout this whole process.”
