A DISTRICT council has been brought to book over a "substantial settlement payment" it made to a senior officer when he left.

The auditor blasted South Somerset District Council over the manner in which the pay-off was handled, concluding it did not represent "value for money" for the council taxpayer.

The local authority carried out an investigation when the details came to light and has accepted the correct management controls were not in place.

In its report of the case, in which the officer is not identified, the auditor, Grant Thornton, said: “From our enquiries of management, we have concerns that there was a lack of due process, insufficient records were maintained to evidence how the agreement was reached and that the agreement does not reflect value for money.”

The report adds: "We have made a statutory recommendation with regards to the governance arrangements that the council made with a senior employee.

"Proper processes were not followed with regard to approving the agreement and complying with financial regulations or the constitution.

"The council did not seek legal advice as to the legality of the transaction. and both the monitoring officer and S151 (senior financial) officer were unaware of the agreement."

Council chief executive Jane Portman accepted the report and said a review has taken place.

She added: "It is our duty to ensure that we deliver value for money for South Somerset.

"We accept and regret that the management controls that were in place did not operate as they should have done on this occasion.

“The controls have been reviewed by management and a revised procedure that takes these findings into account will be recommended to our next meeting of council.

“We are recommending that our members endorse and support all of recommendations included in the report in all areas where weaknesses were identified.

“This matter has been taken extremely seriously and it has been investigated to the fullest possible extent to ensure we can move forward with confidence that such incident cannot occur again.

“We remain absolutely committed to delivering the best possible future by providing value for money and investment in South Somerset through the remaining lifetime of South Somerset District Council and as we look to 2023 and the creation of the new Somerset Council.”