Timing of re-establishment of disciplinary committee questioned

The timing of the re-establishment of a committee dealing with disciplinary matters has been questioned by councillors.

An extraordinary meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council held on Monday (October 11) was mainly focused on the “unlawfulness” of a settlement agreement and pay-off made to former chief executive Ian Westley.

Also on the agenda was statutory officer disciplinary procedure and the appointment of members to the disciplinary and investigatory committee, which has not been in place for some time.

Cllr Stephen Joseph questioned why both matters were on the same agenda and asked if any “statutory officers are being lined up to take the flack” adding that the monitoring officer had resigned, the head of legal is on sick leave and the head of HR is “seconded elsewhere.”

He said the inclusion of both matters “gave the impression it’s all part of the same thing.”

Council leader Cllr David Simpson said that was not the case and it was “nothing sinister” but for the authority to run properly the committee should be established at the earliest opportunity.

Cllr Jamie Adams added it was fair to raise the questions, “with just six months to go it all seems rather hasty that it’s all needed now.”

At the meeting councillors also approved the appointment of Rhian Young, current acting head of legal, as interim monitoring officer, for a period no longer of 12 months.

Support will be available for former monitoring officer Vivienne Geary if required until a permanent appointment is made.