£160,000 'golden goodbye' for Borders council employee

EXCLUSIVE by DOUGLAS SHEPHERD

An unidentified member of staff at Scottish Borders Council left the local authority last year with an exit package worth £160,295, according to information in the newly published unaudited annual accounts for 2022/23.

Meanwhile, the number of SBC employees earning in excess of £50,000 annually increased by over 25% on the previous financial year, total remuneration paid to councillors rose by eight per cent, and the combined amount paid to senior officers was up by 20 per cent compared to 2021/22.

A commentary within the 126-page document says the operating environment for the Council continues to be very challenging. 

"The Council is faced with a number of financial and economic influences such as increasing demands on services, current inflation affecting the costs of goods and services and wider labour market factors affecting the Council’s ability to recruit to fill key vacancies in a number of areas. New digital innovations, business process re-engineering and technology solutions continue to be pursued in order for the Council to deliver vital services to the community as efficiently and effectively as possible." 

The Council’s work to support communities and deliver services following the pandemic continues, adds the report. The Council has worked in partnership with the Scottish Government to provide support to Ukrainian refugees displaced by the current war with Russia. Work also continues in mainstreaming Community Choices to ensure the Council is positively engaging with communities in prioritising resources whenever possible.

"The current operating environment also presents many opportunities for the Scottish Borders, including continued ever closer working with the NHS, South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE), the Edinburgh and South East Scotland Regional City Deal and the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal. There will also be opportunities arising from the New UK Community Renewal Fund. These initiatives combined with the Council’s planned investment in infrastructure of the Borders and our annual procurement spend provide huge opportunities for economic growth and the creation of high quality employment in the South of Scotland."

It is also claimed the challenges posed by constrained Scottish Government funding and cost pressures from pay and price inflation all continue to affect the Council’s finances.

"The Council, despite ongoing challenges, has met the aims of its Financial Strategy and again delivered its planned services within budget with significant investment in new and improved facilities. Scottish Borders Council remains financially sound and well placed to serve the people of the Scottish Borders in the future."

A few other points included in the report:

*The actual outturn for the financial year 2022/23 was a revenue expenditure of £323.4 million representing a net underspend of £1.532 million (0.5%) against the final approved budget.

*The actual outturn for the financial year 2022/23 was capital expenditure of £63.5million with a favourable year end timing movement of £11.6 million against revised budget.

*Overall, Financial Plan savings of £12.027 million were delivered during 2022/23 in order to balance the costs of delivering services and the available resources.

*To date the Council’s approach to longer term financial planning has delivered permanent savings of £79 million. Ongoing effort will be required going forward to successfully deliver the Financial Plan due to the scale of further savings required in 2023/24 and beyond and the challenges now posed through COVID-19 recovery and current economic challenges.

*The Council’s outstanding external debt as at 31 March 2023 was £213m. No additional long term borrowing was undertaken during the year and there was no requirement for short term borrowing during the 2022/23 year. The average rate of interest paid on outstanding external debt was 4.39%.

The two exit packages approved during the year were worth £160,285 and £31,335, according to the document.

A table showing the number of individuals paid £50,000 or more shows the following totals: chief officers 20 (17 the previous year); teachers 256 (199); other staff 85 (71). The overall total was 361 (287).

Remuneration for elected members totalled £808,000 (£737,000). At the same time remuneration paid to senior employees came to £898,094 (£747,222).

The accounts also show the following: " Arrears At 31 March 2023, the Council had Accounts Receivable debtors due of £4.349 million, Council Tax debtors of £27.391 million and Non Domestic Rate debtors of £3.657 million. 

"Provision for bad debts amounted to £0.917 million, £12.265 million and £3.545 million respectively. However, in the current economic climate it is not certain that such an allowance would be sufficient."