The leader of the Liberal Democrats on Harrogate Borough Council has said the authority needs to look urgently at its payout packages to staff after auditors recommended a rethink on how they are agreed.

It was revealed in the council’s statement of accounts that it had paid out £632,000 in exit packages in the past two years.

A report from independent auditors Mazars recommended a review on how payments, including redundancy cash and compensation for loss of office, are agreed for departing members of staff.

The borough council said it would carry out a review but added that the current process already ensured there is a “clear rationale” for the payments which are “properly authorised”.

Cllr Pat Marsh, leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition on the borough council, said the authority needed to look "urgently" at its process.

She said:

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It comes after figures published in the council’s annual statement of accounts showed £354,000 was paid out to 19 former employees in 2019/2020 – an increase from the previous financial year when £278,000 was agreed for 15 staff.

Among the payments was £55,065 to Paul Campbell, the council’s former director of community who left suddenly last March.

Mazars has warned the current process, which sees payments signed off by a monitoring officer, risks a lack of balance between “inappropriate expenditure” and “allowing ineffective employment relationships to continue”.

In its report, auditors recommended that any payment should be signed off by elected councillors.

In a statement to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, a spokesperson for the authority said: