Pembrokeshire County Council has confirmed that its chief finance officer has issued a Section 114 report following controversy over a settlement made with the council’s former chief executive.
The report was discussed at an emergency general meeting of the council on 1 February. It was presented at the meeting by the council’s deputy chief finance officers Nicola Lewis and Sarah Edwards, although the chief finance officer (Jon Haswell) has taken formal responsibility for the comments.
An earlier report by the auditor general for Wales had described a “serious breakdown in governance at the council” when it agreed the settlement with Ian Westley. It said the payment was “contrary to law”.
At the emergency general meeting, councillors voted to not attempt to recoup the unlawful payment, but said that they accepted the recommendations contained in the auditor general’s report.
A spokesman for the council added: “The auditor general acknowledges that the council has established a wide-ranging and ongoing improvement programme and has taken action to improve its governance and decision making.
“Progress on improvements will be reported regularly and continue to build on the result of both internal and external reviews previously commissioned by the council.”
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