The final bill for council taxpayers’ following the departure of the former Caerphilly Council chief executive Christine Harrhy can be revealed at an eye-watering £280,000.
Caerphilly Council’s statement of accounts for 2024-25 show that this was made up of £98,656 in salary, £165,871 covering a settlement payout and lieu of notice payment with the rest made up by local authority pension contributions of £16,127, making a total of £280,654.
Christina Harrhy left her role in October 2024, just over six months into the 2024-25 financial year. It was reported at the time that she received a pay-off of £209,000. Ms Harrhy had been on long-term special leave for 11 months – on full pay – when she left the council.
In the previous financial year – 2023-24 – Ms Harrhy was paid £183,682 as chief executive for the full year. She was appointed chief executive of the Disused Tips Authority for Wales earlier this year at a salary of £120,000 a year.
Lindsay Whittle, Senedd Member for Blaenau Gwent, Caerffili and Rhymni, who was leader of the Plaid Cymru group on Caerphilly Council when Ms Harrhy left, (pictured) said: “To say I am staggered is an understatement. It’s worse than I thought. This is the equivalent of a lottery win and people struggling with cost of living and higher council taxes will rightly be shocked.
“Christina Harrhy was the second chief executive to leave Caerphilly with a massive pay off. Voters in Caerphilly county will have the opportunity next May to have their say on Labour’s running of the local authority when council elections are held.”
Councillor Charlotte Bishop, leader of the Plaid Cymru group, said: “This revelation is a shock to me because we as councillors were not informed of the final total cost of the departure of the former chief executive.
“Given the public interest, I would have expected to be informed rather than having to rummage through the council’s lengthy statement of accounts.”