Police will not investigate £1m exit payments deemed “unlawful” by section 151 officer
Exit payments paid out by Northumberland County Council that totalled more than £1m will not be investigated by Northumbria Police, after a review of the evidence found that the threshold for a criminal investigation had not been met.
The payouts were labelled "unlawful" in a report authored by the council's section 151 officer in July 2023.
In November 2023, it emerged that the council's monitoring officer, Stephen Gerrard, was preparing to refer the payments to the police.
Gerrard relayed an update from the police to the local authority's audit committee last week (31 July), which said: "I'm writing to update you on the outcome of a review by Northumbria Police into material passed to us by Stephen Gerrard in February 2024.
"Under the oversight of a trained and accredited senior investigating officer officers from Northumberland Police have considered whether the documentary evidence made available to us is suggestive of fraud, misconduct in a public office, or a breach of the Localism Act 2011.
"The outcome of this review is that the threshold for recording and commencing a criminal investigation is not met. This concludes the involvement of Northumberland Police in this matter."
According to the statement, the police team worked with Gerrard and Kevin McDonald, the council's chief internal auditor, in their review.
They also approached two councillors to ascertain if they held any relevant material.
Concerns about the payments escalated in July 2023 when the council's s151 officer suggested that a set of payments was unlawful.
Writing in a July 2023 report, the s151 officer claimed that six payments made between 2017 and 2022 were unlawful "on the basis that the approvals required in the council's constitution were not observed and that the payments failed to take account of prevailing policy frameworks, statute and/or statutory guidance.
"Nor is it clear how in all cases, these payments were reflected in the audited accounts," they added.
At the time, the s151 officer decided not to pursue any action due to poor prospects, the legal costs of seeking restitution, and because the uncertainty created "would outweigh any advantage that might be achieved".
Adam Carey
