Latest news with #AnnemarieO'Donnell
Glasgow Times
07-05-2025
- Business
- Glasgow Times
Annemarie O'Donnell to pay back money over £300,000 pension row
In a note to elected members leaked to The Herald this afternoon, the current chief executive Susan Millar informed them this afternoon that the payment to her pension fund will be repaid to the council. There will now be a reduction in the value of her pension. It comes after Annemarie O'Donnell and other senior officials established a way give themselves enhanced pensions before leaving their jobs at the local authority. O'Donnell received a £357,845 'in year' contribution to her pension, Elaine Galletly, former Director of Legal and Administration, received a £223,065 pension contribution and £59,971 for 'compensation for loss of office'. READ MORE: 'Do you know who we are?': Pair knifed four strangers in less than two hours READ MORE: Warrant issued for woman who 'falsely claimed to be pregnant to extort £7k' The letter leaked to The Herald: 'I am writing to inform you of developments relating to the retirement of the former Chief Executive Annemarie O'Donnell. 'You will recall that Annemarie left the council in 2024 with immediate access to her pension. This required the council to make a payment, called 'strain on the fund', to Strathclyde Pension Fund (SPF). This payment to the Pension Fund was around three hundred thousand pounds. 'The council has now reached an agreement with Annemarie which has allowed that strain on the fund to be repaid to the council. 'The details of Annemarie's pension are private to her and not visible to the council, beyond the details which are published in our accounts. Ms Millar added: "I can say that Annemarie contacted SPF and the council last month asking to come to an arrangement whereby she would be treated as if she had simply left the council on normal pension arrangements which incur no additional cost to SPF or the Council. ] "This would entail repayment to SPF of any additional sums paid to her since she left and the repayment of the strain on the fund by SPF to the council. Both these payments have now been made and appropriate disclosures will be made in the Council's accounts in due course." A report from March this year found the early retirement deal for Glasgow City Council's former chief executive was not 'lawfully approved' by the local authority. Council leader Susan Aitken and city treasurer Ricky Bell raised concerns over the payments while questions were also raised through Freedom of Information requests. The council carried out an initial review before instructing lawyers to investigate the exit packages of five staff members. Brodies LLP found that the former chief executive's application for early retirement 'was not, on the face of it, lawfully approved in terms of the council's Scheme of Delegated Functions' but that the applications for the other four staff members were. Reacting to the pay back news, City Treasurer and Deputy Leader of the Council, Ricky Bell welcomed the news, however, stated it was "regrettable" that this ever took place. The councillor told The Herald: "The independent investigation, commissioned by the Council's political leadership, confirmed that the former Chief Executive's enhanced pension was not lawfully authorised. "We welcome her decision to repay the money and to give up future payments. It remains, however, regrettable that this episode ever happened in the first place. "It is due to the diligence and persistence of the SNP and its City leadership, alongside the efforts of Council officers, that we have arrived at the point where the money has been repaid. Tomorrow, councillors will have the opportunity to vote on new safeguards to ensure such unauthorised practices are never repeated." The council has confirmed with The Herald that the letter was sent to elected members this afternoon, They said would not provide any further comment at this moment in time.
The Herald Scotland
07-05-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Annemarie O'Donnell to pay back money over £300,000 pension row
There will now be a reduction in the value of her pension. It comes after Annemarie O'Donnell and other senior officials established a way give themselves enhanced pensions before leaving their jobs at the local authority. O'Donnell received a £357,845 'in year' contribution to her pension, Elaine Galletly, former Director of Legal and Administration, received a £223,065 pension contribution and £59,971 for 'compensation for loss of office'. The letter leaked to The Herald: 'I am writing to inform you of developments relating to the retirement of the former Chief Executive Annemarie O'Donnell. 'You will recall that Annemarie left the council in 2024 with immediate access to her pension. This required the council to make a payment, called 'strain on the fund', to Strathclyde Pension Fund (SPF). This payment to the Pension Fund was around three hundred thousand pounds. 'The council has now reached an agreement with Annemarie which has allowed that strain on the fund to be repaid to the council. 'The details of Annemarie's pension are private to her and not visible to the council, beyond the details which are published in our accounts. Ms Millar added: "I can say that Annemarie contacted SPF and the council last month asking to come to an arrangement whereby she would be treated as if she had simply left the council on normal pension arrangements which incur no additional cost to SPF or the Council. ] "This would entail repayment to SPF of any additional sums paid to her since she left and the repayment of the strain on the fund by SPF to the council. Both these payments have now been made and appropriate disclosures will be made in the Council's accounts in due course." A report from March this year found the early retirement deal for Glasgow City Council's former chief executive was not 'lawfully approved' by the local authority. Council leader Susan Aitken and city treasurer Ricky Bell raised concerns over the payments while questions were also raised through Freedom of Information requests. The council carried out an initial review before instructing lawyers to investigate the exit packages of five staff members. Brodies LLP found that the former chief executive's application for early retirement 'was not, on the face of it, lawfully approved in terms of the council's Scheme of Delegated Functions' but that the applications for the other four staff members were. Reacting to the pay back news, City Treasurer and Deputy Leader of the Council, Ricky Bell welcomed the news, however, stated it was "regrettable" that this ever took place. The councillor told The Herald: "The independent investigation, commissioned by the Council's political leadership, confirmed that the former Chief Executive's enhanced pension was not lawfully authorised. "We welcome her decision to repay the money and to give up future payments. It remains, however, regrettable that this episode ever happened in the first place. "It is due to the diligence and persistence of the SNP and its City leadership, alongside the efforts of Council officers, that we have arrived at the point where the money has been repaid. Tomorrow, councillors will have the opportunity to vote on new safeguards to ensure such unauthorised practices are never repeated." The council has confirmed with The Herald that the letter was sent to elected members this afternoon, They said would not provide any further comment at this moment in time.
The Herald Scotland
07-05-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Glasgow City Council and its 'golden goodbyes' explained
Ms O'Donnell will therefore receive normal pension arrangements with no additional cost to the Strathclyde Pension Fund or Glasgow City Council. Here's how we got to this point. Read More: What is the background? In February 2024, the chief executive of Glasgow City Council, Annemarie O'Donnell, announced that she would step down later that year. She had been in post for more than a decade, and spent more than 30 years in local government in Glasgow. Annemarie O'Donnell (Image: GCC) When she stepped down she received a £357,845 "in year" contribution to her pension, with a number of other council figures receiving so-called 'golden goodbyes'. Elaine Galletly, former director of Legal and Administration, received a £223,065 pension contribution and £59,971 for 'compensation for loss of office'. Carole Forrest, a former solicitor to the council, got a redundancy payment of £95,000 and Anne Connolly, a former principal advisor to the chief executive got a pension and redundancy package of £191,767. Robert Anderson, head of human resources, got a pension and redundancy deal worth £147,654. Why has it proven controversial? Glasgow City Council has been struggling to balance its budget in recent years, and has done so by cutting services and raising revenues through things like remortgaging council owned buildings. Five senior staff being given exit deals worth over £1million would be controversial in that circumstance anyway, but it has proved even more so given there was no political oversight. Legal firm Brodies conducted an investigation into the payments and found no evidence of officials having acted "improperly" but concluded that Ms O'Donnell's exit was not "lawfully approved" in line with council rules. The payments, which came as part of a restructuring exercise, were "in accordance" with Glasgow City Council policies but were approved solely by council officers with no input from elected members. Given that the officers involved in approving the Restructure Report benefited from it by being proposed for early retirement or severance packages it could give the "appearance of a conflict of interest", Douglas Ross KC said. What has the reaction been? Susanne Millar, who succeeded Ms O'Donnell as chief executive, said it wasn't "credible" that the officials couldn't have known approving early retirement deals without it being referred to committee would be controversial. Councillor Greg Hepburn said: "Is it credible that no one would think this would be something that would be politically controversial? That they wouldn't think to take it to committee? "It's not something that would have passed a committee, I feel confident in saying." Jim Cavanagh of Labour said: "There are people out there on the streets, poverty-stricken beyond belief. People's opinions of this council are at rock bottom, and we as councillors are taking the flack for it. 'We didn't know anything. Nobody told us anything. We never knew at any stage what was happening.' Audit Scotland, which audits public bodies, said it would be opening its own investigation. What will happen next? So far Ms O'Donnell is the only one of the five officials to have agreed to repay her 'golden goodbye'. It remains to be seen whether any others will follow suit, and what Audit Scotland will say in its report.
Telegraph
31-03-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Town hall bosses enjoy record salaries amid huge rise in council tax
Town hall bosses are enjoying record salaries as residents face huge increases in council tax, a survey has found. Almost 4,000 local authority staff received more than £100,000 in 2023-24 – up by more than a quarter in a year. The rises comes as council tax bills – 5 per cent higher than the previous year – arrive on the mats of homes across the country. A survey by the TaxPayers' Alliance found that 238 council employees were paid more than the Prime Minister's salary entitlement of £172,153. The highest-paid person was at SNP -run Glasgow council, where former chief executive Annemarie O'Donnell received £567,317, including one-off pension contributions. In England, the official who took home the most money was Chris Mills, former strategic director (resources) of Castle Point council in Essex on £565,000, of which £469,000 was compensation for lack of office. The council is run by independents. In terms of salary alone, the highest paid was Labour-run Wandsworth council 's former chief executive Mike Jackson, on £281,443. The highest number of council staff on £100,000 or more was at Labour-run Westminster council, which covers central London, where 73 earn more than this – just ahead of Greenwich where there are 62.
