'Shocking waste of money' £500k

Weca exit settlements under fire

- John WIMPERIS

PENDING almost half a million pounds in a single year on exit payments for senior staff at the West of England Combined Authority (Weca) has been branded "a completely shocking waste of public money" by one councillor.

"Substantial" exit packages to three directors at the organisation, together with other settlements to conclude previous cases of senior staff departures, saw the combined authority pay out £475,713 in the 2024/25 financial year. External auditors Grant Thornton revealed the figure in its interim annual report, although Weca's annual accounts put the figure at £441,000 for five exit packages.

At a meeting of Weca's audit committee on Monday, Bristol Tory councillor Jonathan Hucker said: "I think the auditors' report understates the seriousness of the crisis that has engulfed the organisation. [...] It is an absolutely huge amount of money and I think it's a completely shocking waste of public money."

He added that, according to his own calculations, the amount paid out in exit payments was equal to the annual income tax paid by 110 people earning an average salary. He said: "Frankly I think spending so much money on these exit packages - considering that in the previous year there was also £219,000 spent on an exit package - basically it's a disgrace and it's a public scandal."