Opposition leaders call payoff to former county council chief executive a 'shabby cover-up'

Opposition leaders have called a financial settlement between West Sussex County Council and its former chief executive ‘a shabby cover-up’ and accused the authority of ‘rolling over’. Dr James Walsh (Lib Dem) and Michael Jones (Labour) spoke out after the BBC learned that Nathan Elvery had been given £265,000 when he parted ways with the council in November. Previously the county council had refused a number of requests to reveal details of the settlement. His departure came after the county’s children’s services and Fire & Rescue Service were heavily criticised by inspectors, with a Department for Education commissioner saying control of the former should be passed to an independent Trust. Dr Walsh, who represents Littlehampton East, said: "To reward a corporate failure of this magnitude with a £265,000 golden handshake is an insult to all those affected, and to the taxpayers of West Sussex." Congratulating the BBC for ‘uncovering the truth of this shabby cover up’, he added that any claim the council had to economic competence had been ‘blown out of the water’. Mr Jones, who represents Southgate & Gossops Green, said: "It is obviously for the leader of the council to justify spending such sums to West Sussex residents. "But having read the final report from the [Department of Education] commissioner on how bad things had got internally under the previous chief executive’s watch, assuming that is accurate, I don’t personally think that Mr Elvery deserved to leave with a penny of taxpayers’ money. "Yes, it might have been more time consuming – and legal costs may have been a great deal more – if the council had contested it rather than just rolling over, but again I think the council comes out of this with its reputation damaged by taking this course of action." A council spokesman said earlier that the authority had needed a ‘fresh start’ and took external advice on the terms of Mr Elvery’s departure ‘and the value to the council of resolving the matter quickly and moving forward’. It was also reported that legal advice about the departure had cost the council more than £35,000. Mr Jones complained that neither himself nor Dr Walsh had been consulted before the settlement was approved, only finding out after it had been done. Dr Walsh accused the council of  a 'misuse of taxpayers’ money to cover up a failure'. When asked about the comments made by Dr Walsh and Mr Jones, a council spokesman said: "We won’t be commenting any further on this at this time." (By Karen Dunn - Local Democracy Reporter) More Radio is continuously dedicated to providing a quality news service on-air and online, reporting local stories that matter across Sussex. If you enjoyed reading this story, then check out our home page at moreradio.online where you can find the latest from the county, along with features and competitions from our presenters, as well as listening to the station live. You can also sign up to our news alerts to receive updates on new stories. Simply click on the bell at the bottom right of the home page. This will then allow a pop-up which will ask if you would like to receive alerts. Press ‘allow’ and you’re all signed up! You can also follow us on Facebook and on Twitter.