Council’s six-figure payout to former boss finally confirmed

The scale of top officers’ pay at West Sussex County Council has been revealed in the accounts for 2019/20.
Nathan Elvery was chief executive at West Sussex County Council from 2016 to 2019Nathan Elvery was chief executive at West Sussex County Council from 2016 to 2019
Nathan Elvery was chief executive at West Sussex County Council from 2016 to 2019

It finally confirms the six-figure payout received by former chief executive Nathan Elvery, who departed the authority in November ‘by mutual consent’ after two months ‘away from his duties’ on full pay.

In 2019/20, he received £126,667 in basic pay, £95,000 pay in lieu of notice and £5,278 holiday pay.

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On top of this he also received £170,000 in ‘compensation for loss of employment’ and a £30,708 pension contribution.

This total remuneration adds up to £427,653, and essentially includes what was a £265,000 settlement package.

Asked about value for money to taxpayers, a county council spokesman said: “The value for money evaluation in this case relates not only to the services supplied under the contract of employment but also to the overall benefits to the council from the arrangement arrived at and the costs of bringing the contract to an end in line with the aims and needs of the council.”

In January it was alleged that Mr Elvery had reached a £265,000 settlement with the county council, which had also reportedly spent more than £35,000 on legal advice. But this was never confirmed at the time, nor has a reason for his departure ever been given.

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The accounts also show the total cost of 81 exit packages for the entire county council was £1.15million in 2019/20. This compares to 146 costing £2.51million in 2018/19.

A WSCC spokesman said: “The cost of each exit package is evaluated against the benefits and opportunities afforded by the change the exit is aimed at. That must happen within the contractual context of each individual case as well as the wider corporate benefits which are being sought.

“A large and complex organisation such as the council must adapt to a changing financial and service landscape. The council does endeavour to keep those costs as low as can be achieved.”

Although the number of officers on £100,000 a year or more has fallen, more county council staff are earning more than £50,000 per annum.

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Excluding schools, 427 staff earned more than £50,000 in 2019/20, up from 311 in 2018/19. But the number of employees pocketing £100,000 or more per annum has fallen from 21 to 13.

The county council spokesman explained it had introduced a scheme in 2019/20 to attract people in hard to fill posts, largely in children’s social care.

Since retention payments are classified as remuneration, some employees have been captured in the disclosure note even though their basic pay is below £50,000.

In addition a 2019 pay award has meant some staff earning slightly below £50,000 are now slightly above it.

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James Walsh, leader of the Lib Dem group, called the severance payments to the former chief executive a ‘shocking waste of taxpayer money’. He pointed out how several chief officers had left WSCC over the past decade with large settlements.

Dr Walsh added: “Residents should remember this flagrant overspending over a million pounds of their hard earned cash to cover up failures in the top leadership of the county council when we get to county council elections next year.”

Michael Jones, leader of the Labour group, described the settlement a ‘king’s ransom of staggering proportions’.

He added: “The issue of senior executive remuneration at the county council, particularly severance payments, clearly remains an area of significant concern and while there has been some reduction in the overall amounts, the West Sussex Tory leadership is still not getting to grips with this issue in a way that I believe local residents would expect.

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“The ugly truth is that this means over a million pounds lost to spending on local front line services at a time the council is facing an increasing budget gap.”

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