MINISTERS have been accused of "lax oversight" after it emerged that 14 college principals shared nearly £2.4 million in pay-outs under a controversial national merger scheme.

The attack came after new figures highlighted the scale of the payments - the largest of which was £315,000 awarded to Ronnie Knox, the former principal of North Glasgow College, under a deal already questioned by public spending watchdog Audit Scotland.

John Doyle, the former principal of Coatbridge College, received the next highest payment of £304,000 - a package which is currently under scrutiny from Holyrood's public audit committee following concerns of poor governance.

Tavish Scott, education spokesman for the Scottish Liberal Democrats, raised concerns over ministers’ awareness of the scale of severance payments.

He said: "These payouts symbolise just how badly the merger process was planned and scrutinised by the Scottish Government.

"It is incredibly concerning that the Cabinet Secretary has admitted there would have been regular contact between her, her predecessor and the Scottish Funding Council, but that concerns over the scale of these payouts were not raised sooner.

"The severance payment made to Mr Doyle was by no means unique and certainly not the cheapest and it has become very clear that it is highly unlikely that this money can be returned."

Mr Scott's comments came after the public audit committee questioned Mr Doyle as well as former chairman of the college board John Gray and Angela Constance, the Education Secretary.

Ms Constance told the committee she wanted Mr Doyle to pay the money back, but said she did not think there was a "mechanism" that would enable that to happen.

She said: "I'm appalled at the poor governance and the lack of stewardship. If I could I would rewind to ensure that payments in excess of £300,000, which were completely exorbitant, were not met from the public purse.

"Of course I would want Mr Doyle to pay back money that he has received at the expense of the public purse. Whether there is a mechanism to do that is another matter."

She said a college governance taskforce which she chairs is currently working to ensure there is no repetition of the issue and to improve wider accountability and governance.

Mr Doyle shared a £850,000 payout with six other senior staff when Coatbridge College merged with two others in 2013.

Caroline Gardner, the Auditor General for Scotland, has already criticised the severance packages paid out to the seven managers in a report in June, saying there were "serious weaknesses in governance".

Mr Doyle first appeared before the Holyrood committee in October, when he defended the payouts and said his reputation had been "absolutely trashed when we have done nothing wrong".

However, the former principal and board chairman John Gray were recalled to give further evidence after he was accused of "talking nonsense" to MSPs.

Mr Doyle again defended his position, saying he was losing a job he loved and was very successful in along with five years' salary.

"I lost my job through no fault of my own. I feel, in the context of an employee, let down, and I feel as a principal and chief executive that we could have done things better. There is no reason for me to pay the money back."

Asked if he had exercised his duty of care towards other staff at the college, Mr Doyle answered: "Unequivocally, yes."

Mr Gray said the payments had to be viewed in the context of the college merger process arguing that the merger policy brought in by the Scottish Government had provided "very little direction" over how it should be managed.

The Herald:

John Gray at the public audit committee

He also criticised the auditor general's report, saying Ms Gardner had "clearly not examined the situation in sufficient detail", noting that neither he nor Mr Doyle had been approached for an explanation.

He said: "The auditor general's statement had no foundation in fact, her conclusions were entirely her own and were insulting and damaging, and should be retracted."