The processes, decisions and actions which enabled five senior Glasgow City Council officers to take significant early retirement and redundancy payouts fell short of the behaviour and standards expected of public servants.

Between 2021 and 2024, five senior officers left the council, and that number included the former Chief Executive. The restructuring proposals appear to have been approved by some individuals who directly benefited. Given the seniority of the officers leaving, the Audit Commission says restructuring proposals should have been considered by the relevant council committee for councillors to scrutinise.

The absence of independent scrutiny from councillors and formal documentation, including details of how decisions were made and evidence of value for money, is the body says “deeply concerning”.

The action taken by the new Chief Executive has been welcomed by the Accounts Commission. After councillors became aware of the departures, an internal investigation was actioned, leading to the commissioning of an independent review. The council accepted and implemented its recommendations.

Andrew Burns, Deputy Chair of the Accounts Commission said: “The actions taken by a group of senior staff at Glasgow City Council fell short of the values and principles every public sector worker and councillor are expected to follow. There was a failure to address and document how potential conflicts of interest were considered. And a failure to demonstrate how the guiding principles of working in the public sector – in particular selflessness, integrity and objectivity – had been applied.

“It is alarming to see reports which need to consider the lawfulness of actions within councils, and such circumstances do little to reassure taxpayers about how public money is being used. All councils need to undertake restructuring, particularly with financial pressures, growing demand and an ageing workforce. Given the issues highlighted in this report, the Accounts Commission will write to all council chief executives and leaders to highlight the importance of good governance, value for money and transparency in decision making.”

The 2023/24 annual audit report is available on the Audit Scotland website.