Councils reject 'golden goodbyes'

Wrexham councillors voted against the scheme

Six local authorities have voted to reject a Welsh Assembly Government scheme to award long-serving councillors so-called "golden goodbyes" of £20,000.

On Tuesday, Denbighshire, Anglesey and Powys councils joined Caerphilly and Wrexham councils, who voted to reject the assembly government's proposal on Monday.

Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) became the first to reject the plan last week.

Under the scheme, councillors with more than 16 years' service would receive a one-off payment of £20,000 if they choose to stand down.

Just three of Wales' 22 local authorities have so far voted to accept the scheme - Vale of Glamorgan, Carmarthenshire and Torfaen.

Liberal Democrat spokeswoman Kirsty Williams said she was not surprised so many councils have voted against the scheme.

"What I think it shows is that this was a deal cooked up by a few key individuals that bore no resemblance to what councils throughout Wales wanted and certainly didn't bear any resemblance to what the public wants," she said.

"We do need to look at why our councils are so unrepresentative, but I don't think paying £20,000 to councillors to retire is the way to go about it," she added.

For the 22 Wrexham councillors who voted against the severance scheme on Monday, the biggest concern was the worry that constituents would think they were "lining their pockets".

What your council leader thinks

"I feel this is a way of the Labour Party trying to get rid of the old codgers," said Independent councillor Pat Jeffares.

"We are here because we feel it's our public duty to be here," added councillor Mark Davies.

"They [the public] are going to look at this as councillors lining their own pockets."

However, Wrexham's Leader Shan Wilkinson said the assembly initiative would lead to a fairer system for councillors.

She said: "There can be no question of councillors lining their own pockets, this isn't about the people in this council chamber doing something for themselves.

"This proposal is to compensate those people who would otherwise be disadvantaged."

This is a messy exercise, they are passing the buck Arwel Jones Wrexham councillor

But there was anger among some Wrexham councillors who felt the Welsh assembly had left the final decision on the scheme to individual local authorities.

"This is a messy exercise, they are passing the buck," said Wrexham councillor Arwel Jones.

Conservative local government spokesman Glyn Davies said the scheme was "immoral".

"This is something that nobody in Wales wants apart from those who might benefit and the 30 Labour AMs who voted for it."

But the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) defended the scheme.

In a statement, it said: "It is now clearly a matter for individual local authorities to exercise local choice on whether or not they implement this scheme.

"Those who have vilified long-standing public servants as undeserving of such an award should perhaps reflect more carefully on the role of local councillors in regenerating their communities. "

All of Wales' councils will meet individually to decide on whether to adopt the policy.

In councils which adopt the scheme, long-serving members have until 20 November to decide whether or not to accept the payment and retire at the next local government elections in May or June next year.

However, critics claim the one-off initiative for the 2004 council elections is flawed as there is nothing to prevent councillors who take the money from standing again.