Suspension of Caerphilly council pay scandal chief exec, Anthony O'Sullivan, secretly lifted by authority in March this year

Caerphilly County Borough Council's chief executive Anthony O'Sullivan, his deputy Nigel Barnett and head of legal services Daniel Perkins were suspended on full pay in 2013, after accusations of misconduct between June 25  and October10 in 2012.

The scandal involved the three officers agreeing to give themselves pay rises of up to twenty percent at a time when the majority of council staff and Caerphilly taxpayers were enduring pay freezes.

As previously reported by the Argus, Mr O'Sullivan's salary was increased by £32,000 but this was later reduced to £5,000 after staff and unions opposed it.

A damning Wales Audit Office report also criticised the local authority for "failures" and "inadequacies" and deemed the increases as "unlawful" in the way they were set.

After being cleared of all charges alongside fellow officers in October 2015, Caerphilly CBC have stated the officers have remained suspended on full pay while internal investigations continued.

Now, Mr O’Sullivan’s solicitor David Lewis, of Richards and Lewis in Ebbw Vale, has released a letter sent to the council’s Labour leader Keith Reynolds on December 5.

The letter reveals Caerphilly council agreed to lift Mr O’Sullivan’s continued suspension after he claimed it was “unlawful” and “unconstitutional” and granted him a period of “special paid leave” until the disciplinary proceedings were concluded.

This period of leave began in March 2016.

Writing to Caerphilly CBC’s leader, Cllr Keith Reynolds, the solicitor said that the chief executive was “increasingly concerned” at “inappropriate and inaccurate reporting” in the press that he was still suspended.

Caerphilly council failed to inform the public of Mr O'Sullivan's change in suspension status.

The letter said: “Mr. O’Sullivan agreed to this period of ‘Special Paid Leave’ as he was hopeful of a swift resolution of the disciplinary process.

"This was based upon the manner in which HHJ Hart had roundly dismissed criminal charges against him at Bristol Crown Court and the comprehensive response that had been prepared to the Council’s ‘Schedule of Allegations’ against him.

"These allegations appeared to have little substance. He was also hopeful of a prompt return to his substantive post to which he remains fully committed.

“At the time you also requested that Mr. O’Sullivan did not publicise this change of status and Mr. O‘Sullivan has for almost a year honorably observed your request.

"However, given the length of time matters have dragged and your failure to correct the repeated inaccurate reporting in the press this matter must be revisited.”

The letter added that continued references to Mr O’Sullivan’s suspension, as late as November 23 by media, caused “distress” to the chief executive's family, who have “endured four years of painful and unnecessary trauma”.

Solicitor Mr Lewis also sent Mr Reynolds a draft press statement covering the same points for release to the media.

No such press release has been issued.

Residents and politicians have called for action on the long-running pay scandal after the cost to Caerphilly CBC exceed the £1million mark.

In July this year, Caerphilly CBC voted to allocate an additional half a million pounds towards salaries and legal costs of the officers, while an additional £150k was allocated again in November to the investigation.

As previously reported by the Argus, by March 2017 the financial cost to the authority is expected to rise to around £2million.

Councillor Colin Mann, leader of the opposition Plaid Cymru group on Caerphilly County Borough Council, said he was “completely unaware of (Mr O’Sullivan’s) changed status”

“I am appalled that the council as a whole was not informed of the change from suspension to special paid leave which happened nine months ago. We have been misled and that is disgraceful,” he said.

“We need questions answered: Who agreed the change of status, Why was it agreed and which councillors were aware of that decision? Why was the council as a whole not informed and why was Mr O’Sullivan told not to publicise the change? I also want to know what the status is of the other two officers that were suspended at the same time as Mr O’Sullivan. Are they on special leave as well.”

The opposition leader also called for a special meeting of the council to give “full and detailed answers in public to these questions.”

He added: “This smacks of a cover-up and the leader of the council has to take responsibility. It is bad enough that millions of pounds of public money has already gone down the drain as a result of this senior officers’ pay scandal under Labour and now this happens.

"It is totally unacceptable and it is clear that Labour can’t be trusted to run Caerphilly council in an open and transparent manner.”

A Caerphilly CBC spokeswoman said,  “At its meeting on March 3 2016, the council’s Investigating and Disciplinary Committee resolved, having received legal advice, that the suspensions of the three statutory officers be converted into special leave.

"This change in status was not a reflection on the merits of the case, but rather a response to a technical time restriction as to the duration of suspensions which is imposed on the council by the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2014.

"As the process is ongoing, it would not be appropriate to add anything further at this stage."