I did wonder how long it would take for the newspapers to catch up with the fact that Babergh is, like every other employer in the country, obliged to pay redundancy to those it makes redundant.
Additionally, in common with every Government body, we are contractually committed to pay a lump sum to into the pension funds of those who take early retirement when they are 55 or more.
So yes, it is true, that we are paying our outgoing Chief Executive Officer, Pat Rockall, what she is entitled to as far as redundancy goes, and we are also paying a lump sum into her pension. This amounts in all to around £260,000, roughly two thirds of which relates to her pension.
We have no choice in this matter, and it is part of the not inconsiderable investment that we will have to make in order to achieve savings in the medium term. I would like to make it clear however that the savings are such that full payback will be made in two years; a good return by any measure,
It should be added that there is no question of paying more than we need! No additional golden goodbyes.
We have made no secret of the fact that these payments will have to be made, every councillor at Babergh is well aware of them, and most have voted through publicly available papers on several occasions in which they have been a clearly spelt out component of the business plan.
Now, you can say that it is wicked and wrong that public servants are entitled to this generous treatment, and indeed the Hutton Report seems to imply that the current system is far from perfect. Until the law changes however, and there is little sign of this happening in the short term, we have to play by the current rules.
