The chief executive of Perth and Kinross Council has denied any communication records were deleted after a £128k-a-year director role was axed without a single email being sent between senior staff.
Thomas Glen addressed the issue amid an appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner by The Courier for records relating to the departure of Alison Williams from the local authority.
Ms Williams arrived at the council in February to take up the freshly created role of director of economy, place and learning.
Six months later, she left the job to “explore new opportunities” and the position was scrapped altogether in September.
In response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by The Courier, the local authority claimed no communication or meeting records between senior management were held regarding Ms Williams departure or the subsequent axing of the role.
Following an appeal, the council stated that all decision were taken during a series of undocumented verbal meetings with the chief executive.
‘No emails or other records were deleted’
Mr Glen, the local authority’s chief executive, told The Courier that no records have been deleted concerning the saga.
The council boss says he held discussions with Ms Williams regarding her decision to leave, which in turn provided him with an opportunity to review and restructure the leadership team and make financial savings.
“The removal of the director of the economy, place and learning post saw discussions with my executive team and changes in reporting arrangements for strategic leads, including a number reporting directly to myself,” said Mr Glen.
“I can also confirm that no emails or other records were deleted or at any point during these discussions.
“Our elected members received a written update on my restructuring and cost reduction decisions on September 3 2024.
“Bearing in mind the recent appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner by The Courier, I do not intend to comment further on this decision.”
Council apology for FOI mistake
On Monday, The Courier revealed that Ms Williams was paid a near £4.5k relocation fee to take up her role at the local authority.
The council’s in-house FOI team had previously refused to tell The Courier how much compensation the former director had been paid to take up the role.
They argued that the relocation fee was not in the public interest.
However, they later apologised for withholding the information after realising the figure was published in their own unaudited accounts.
The apology is related to a different FOI regarding the lack of communication records.
The Scottish Information Commissioner has confirmed they will investigate The Courier’s appeal.
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