A senior council official has been handed a £450,000 deal to leave her post as part of a restructure.
Janice Hewitt, the former chief officer of North Lanarkshire Health and Social Care, has been awarded the substantial severance package after just four years in the job.
The deal, which comes amid substantial cuts to services and an increase in council tax at the local authority, has been described by critics as “irresponsible” and a “golden parachute for poor performance”.
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The council claimed that 75 per cent of the sum was paid into Ms Hewitt’s pension and her removal would result in savings by 2021.
However, there was still anger over the size of the deal when the authority is making cuts of £16 million.
Trade union Unison, which represents care workers at the council, said: “Ms Hewitt constantly pushed for the outsourcing and privatising of care services – so we aren’t upset to see her gone.
“But £450,000 seems a high price to pay for the privilege. North Lanarkshire has significant areas of deprivation and this is money being taken out of our communities.
“Care integration funding is supposed to help us tackle inequality – not provide golden parachutes for poor performance.”
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Scottish Greens health spokeswoman Alison Johnstone MSP added: “We need to understand why this has happened. The people of North Lanarkshire will be concerned to hear that one official has received a golden goodbye of almost half a million pounds on top of a £130,000 salary, particularly at a time when health and social care budgets and services are under huge strain.”
Ms Hewitt took up the role in 2014 as part of the Scottish Government’s flagship policy to integrate social and NHS care.
However, she left in October last year after being offered “voluntary severance”. The full details of her redundancy package were revealed in accounts published last week by the North Lanarkshire Health and Social Care board.
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A council spokeswoman said: “Senior level restructures have delivered £413,000 savings each year.
“Employees being made redundant are entitled to a contractual redundancy payment and to access their pension entitlement in accordance with the pension regulations. In addition, the council’s own rules state that restructure costs must be paid back within three years.”
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