Fury as £63m handed out to council fatcats in 'golden goodbyes'
Scottish councils have warned they are being short-changed by the Scottish Government.
Almost £63 million of public money has been spent on “golden goodbyes” for high earning council officers since 2022, new figures have revealed.
The annual accounts of Scottish councils reveal how much has been spent on exit packages for outgoing employees, with the amount spent on packages worth more than £100,000 increasing from £12.6 million in 2022-23 to £28.1m in 2023-24.
In the 2024-25 financial year, the total in golden goodbyes paid out by Scottish councils was £21.9m.
Since 2022, a combined total of £62.6m has been spent on the exit packages.
The revelation comes after council chiefs continue to warn that local authorities in Scotland have been starved of funding from SNP ministers, with councils expected to deliver more services, including Scottish Government priorities, with less core funding in real terms.
According to the figures, obtained by the Scottish Conservatives, North Lanarkshire Council spent the most of any council on the big payouts, with £15.4m spent, followed by Glasgow City Council with a £11.3m spend followed by Renfrewshire Council, which spent £7.9m.
Edinburgh City Council has paid out £1.3m in exit packages for high earning employees leaving their positions while the total paid out by Aberdeen Council was £3.9m. Stirling Council paid out £2.7m in “golden goodbyes” over the last three years.
Six local authorities, Midlothian, West Lothian, East Ayrshire, Orkney, Shetland and South Lanarkshire did not pay off any high earning staff members, according to the figures.
Scottish Conservative finance and local government spokesperson, Craig Hoy, said: “Hard-working Scots who’ve been hammered by rising council taxes will be furious that councils have shelled out millions on golden goodbyes.
“Our local services are at breaking point, but instead of fixing the issues that actually matter, council bosses are allowing the bill for public-sector payouts to balloon.
“Taxpayers are sick of SNP and Labour-run councils spending their money on the wrong priorities while our frontline services are on their knees.”
Research from spending watchdog, Audit Scotland, found that councils are facing a budget black hole of almost £650m this financial year - caused by soaring inflation, increased costs and demands.
Since 2011, an estimated £5 billion of cuts and savings have been made by Scottish councils.
Cosla, the umbrella organisation for Scottish councils, has called for SNP ministers to hand over £16 billion for local authorities’ day-to-day services with next year’s budget, to be delivered on January 13, labelled “a pivotal moment” in securing the sustainability of local services.
The Scottish Joint Negotiating Committee (SJNC) for chief officials negotiates the salaries for the chief executives of Scottish local authorities, with talks taking place nationally through Cosla.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “It is up to individual councils to manage their budgets and decide the terms and conditions for their staff.
“The Scottish Government respects the independence of local government. However, we would expect all councils to make decisions that meet their responsibility to secure value for money.”
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