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.
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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.
