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The former Chief Executive of Teignbridge District Council was given a £264,000 pay-off when she left the council last year, new figures have revealed.

Nicola Bulbeck left her role as CEO after an 11-year stint following the General Election in June 2017, with no reason being given for her departure or about her future plans.

Her leaving package was kept secret from the public and the council turned down a Freedom of Information request to release the figures.

Phil Shears – the father of 2017 Love Island star Jessica Shears – has since been appointed as the council’s new managing director.

But now the council’s draft statement of accounts reveals that the total cost of her exit package was £264,000, and she was awarded £173,000 as ‘compensation for loss of employment’.

The staggering figure has been criticised by senior Liberal Democrats as being ‘appalling’ given that she was on a total remuneration package of £141,972 prior to her departure. The Prime Minister is paid £152,532. The basic salary for a member of parliament is £74,962.

But Conservative council leader Cllr Jeremy Christophers said they made the decision to delete the post in a bid to cut costs.

He said it was the Liberal Democrats who ruled the council in 2006 when she was appointed and they signed the contract that led to this remuneration package being used to calculate her exit pay.

Lib Dem Cllr Alistair Dewhirst said: “I am pleased that this issue has now become public but wish that transparency in the Council was an issue of greater concern to some of my fellow Councillors.

“Obviously I am appalled by this huge sum of money and wonder how anyone can be worth that much – more even than the Prime Minister.

"It seems to me to be yet another indication of how this Conservative led administration, which knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing, has lost touch with the basic values of the people of Teignbridge.

"For my constituents a sum of money like that would be like winning the National Lottery.”

He added: “I have to say that the ex-Chief Executive supported issues, such as the tide of litter engulfing our District, which I and my constituents care about. I also found her pleasant to deal with and particularly friendly and helpful when I was first elected to represent the people of Ipplepen.”

But in response, Cllr Christophers said: "As Leader of the Council I am continuously reviewing ways to provide better value for money to the Teignbridge council tax payers. Last year with the full support of the council, I took action to eliminate the role of Chief Executive as this was not meeting our aim of providing the best use of council taxpayers money.

(Image: Andy Styles)

“Nicola Bulbeck was appointed in 2006 by the Liberal Democrats and her employment contract, including the redundancy calculation policy, was drawn up under the Liberal Democrat administration."

She was a joint chief executive with Torridge District Council, but Cllr Christophers said that since became leader in 2011, he had never been to Torridge in that capacity which shows how remote the working arrangement was.

He said he was unhappy about officer time being used for the benefit of the residents of Torridge and so they decided to delete the joint post, a decision that was unanimously agreed by the appointments and remuneration committee that consists of the group leaders and the portfolio holder.

He added: “All the decisions made by that committee were unanimous. We didn’t want to keep a chief executive in an over-powered position for what we as a council could offer. We have deleted the post and a new managing director has been appointed on a different pay sale.

“We have taken the one hit to cut our cuts. We would have had to either pay her this or if not, she would have still been with us as the chief executive. There is no other way.

"I completely agree that £264,000 is an enormous amount of money to be paid as a redundancy package resulting from this employment contract. I also feel that £123 000 per year as a salary was an unacceptable amount for the Teignbridge council taxpayer. This is why my Conservative administration took the decision to terminate this contract so that we can continue to take the council in a more positive direction to deliver the best local services that we can.

"Unfortunately, we have been held to the original employment contract in 2006 and the prearranged redundancy calculation policy where employees can select any three years in their employment to determine their redundancy package. This enabled Nicola Bulbeck to take full advantage of another Liberal Democrat financial failing in the decision to share the Chief Executive with Torridge Council.

"This meant we not only ended up paying for public service improvements in their district during this time, but it was also allowed the employee to use this period to base her exit package on.

“The Conservative administration has improved and maintained services while reducing more than £700,000 per annum from the senior management structure. We are now in a position with a new managing director to move forwards with confidence under a fresh and lean management structure costing over £700,000 per year less.”

(Image: Ana Gonzalez Puig, Pyramid Photography)

A Teignbridge District Council spokesman added: “On May 15 last year councillors convened for Annual Council. At that meeting, councillors voted to move into Part Two to consider matters relating to the future management of Teignbridge. The minutes of that meeting are our website.

“While specific details remain exempt from disclosure under existing privacy laws, the arrangement delivers significant savings to Teignbridge. Teignbridge – which has recently been commended nationally for its work around future planning - is now led by Managing Director Phil Shears who is looking to continue Teignbridge’s track record in delivering significant savings in senior management costs and continue providing quality services to residents and businesses.

“Under different legislation and regulatory duties, Teignbridge is required to publish an annual statement of accounts setting out the authority’s overall financial position, including officers’ remuneration, exit packages and termination benefits. This has been done and accounts are online. In that respect, the council remains transparent by publishing as it is supposed to under regulation and statute and within the prescribed format.

“Like many public bodies, Teignbridge works hard to fulfil its many and varied lawful duties while ensuring it balances the rights and freedoms of individuals with legitimate interests in disclosure on the use of public funds. Teignbridge will continue to do its businesses in accordance with different laws and regulations, while ensuring the district remains a great place to live, work and visit.”

Cllr Christophers added: “We had a legal duty to not open ourselves up to a claim from her in the future by revealing information. People might not be happy about the figures, but they would be less happy if we had to pay more in the future what we breached that.”