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Crackdown on 'boomerang bosses'

Ministers are to investigate the payouts made to high-ranking council officials who move from one authority to another due to political clashes.

John Denham called in the Audit Commission after it emerged top officials had secured six-figure severance payments only to take up new roles at other councils.

He said there had been a spate of cases of highly-paid officials leaving over clashes with councillors from the ruling parties not because of any problems with their work.

The practice, dubbed ‘boomerang bosses’, was highlighted by the Sunday Times newspaper earlier this year.

Mr Denham wants the commission to establish the justification for such generous payoffs, and to determine whether procedures should be implemented to reduce the practice.

Mr Denham said: “It’s not acceptable for town hall chiefs and council leaders to agree expensive deals to part company just because they don’t get on or because they’d prefer to work with someone else.

“If a chief executive, who has served his or her administration well, leaves for no justifiable reasons it does not mean a council should spend large amounts of taxpayers’ money just to move them on to the next council so they can then find a more favoured face.”

A Commission inquiry last year found an increasing trend for councils to poach each others’ best officials had helped fuel a near doubling in pay packets and discouraged internal talent.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .