§ Mr. Eldon Griffithsasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is aware that recent court decisions have raised doubts about the legality of redundancy payments made on top of special pensions to local government officers who lost their posts in the course of reorganisation; if he has made an estimate of 452W the total number of persons and the sums of money involved; in how many cases district auditors have sought repayment of these moneys; how many former officials have complied with these requests; and what reply he is giving to councils, for example, St. Edmundsbury and Babergh District Councils in Suffolk, which ask for dispensation from surcharge or any other action in respect of payments made in the belief that they were legitimate.
§ Mr. John SilkinI know of an Industrial Tribunal ruling that officers awarded early retirement benefits under the Local Government (Retirement of Chief Officers) Regulations 1973 were not entitled to payments under the Redundancy Payments Act 1965, since they retired voluntarily in circumstances in which their employment could have continued had they not done so. I have no details of the redundancy payments made to such officers by local authorities, these not being a matter for my Department. I understand, however, that about two dozen instances came to light in Suffolk last year. An application from Babergh District Council for sanction under Section 228(1) of the Local Government Act 1933 in respect of five such payments totalling £4,700 is being considered.