THURROCK Council has been breaking the government's Local Transparency Code by refusing to disclose the names of some high-paid officers and not releasing details of how many others draw more than £50,000 a year.

Despite questions and pressure brought to bear by Thurrock Nub News, the council has still not disclosed up-to-date information to the public it is obligated to do – a contravention of instructions by the government and its appointed commissioners to be more open, honest and transparent, outlined in the Best Value Inspection (BVI) report released in July 2023.

The BVI could not have been clearer about what was expected from Thurrock Council. It says:

"The Council's lack of openness and transparency has given rise to a culture of insularity and complacency. Internal challenge has been discouraged, and external criticism and challenge have been routinely dismissed.

"This has undermined the Council's ability to learn from others and from its own previous mistakes. It has placed the Council in a state of 'unconscious incompetence' and has undermined its ability to secure continuous improvement. Urgent change is required."

One of the most contentious issues at the council since it became subject to government intervention in 2022 has been the 'churn' of senior officers who have come and gone in significant numbers over a variety of directorates.

Some have been full time appointments who have not made the grade or walked away having seen what the corridors of power hold, others have been interims – of which there are many at assistant director level – and others have been brought in as consultants, though it is almost impossible to track how many of them there have been and what they have been paid.

What the council is obligated to do is post – on its website - an updated list of all officers' roles where a salary of more than £50,000 is paid – and any officers who earn more than £150,000 must be named.

The council is supposed to have those figures (as recorded on 1 April 2024) in place by 30 April this year. They are always a calendar year behind reality and the current pay situation.

The council's 'What We spend' should show figures and positions as of 1 April 2024, but it does not and is therefore in breach of the Transparency Code.

However, Thurrock Council has not updated its figures to the requisite time, with the last figures posted dating back to 1 April 2023. They were only updated (from 2022's figures) after pressure by Thurrock Nub News earlier this year with a commitment to get the latest available figures in place as soon as possible.

That commitment was repeated in response to further pressure from Thurrock Nub News last month. A statement issued to Nub News on 22 October said: "The salary data from 2024-25 for publication is being collated and will be ready to publish by the end of this month."

That has not happened. On Thursday (30 October) Thurrock Nub News editor Neil Speight wrote to the council recalling its earlier pledge and saying: "I remind you that you are in clear breach of the Transparency Code and that any new data published must show the names and roles of anyone earning more than £150K. I look forward to seeing the data."

Yesterday, Friday (31 October) the council's assistant director communications and engagement, Louise Neilan, said 'it was not proving possible to update the information'.

She could not explain why that was, nor give a reason why a simple thing like adding the names of Dr Dave Smith and Sheila Murphy (the two earners above £150K in 2023-4) to the existing web page could not happen, even if that was only a gesture towards what should have been.

Ultimately, responsibility for meeting lawful guidelines rests with executive director of corporate services and monitoring officer, Dan Fenwick, whose own position and salary is missing from the list. He reports only to Dr Smith, the council's managing director whose specific salary is unknown but is likely to be upwards of a quarter of a million pounds a year.

Mr Fenwick took up his post on 1 March last year and therefore should be on the list, either in terms of his position or named if he earns above the threshold.

As a commissioner, Dr Smith is one of three people charged with bringing the council up to expected standards and meeting all the requirements of the BVI. One of his keys roles is 'to support the council's recovery and improve its financial governance, scrutiny, and transparency."

Mr Speight, who is also an independent councillor and who has in the past called for Dr Smith's resignation because of other adjudged failings, said: "As editor of the Thurrock Independent newspaper in January 2018 I damned the council as of one of shame and contempt for the people.

"More than eight years on it seems we are just reinventing the wheel. The Thurrock Independent may have gone but the legacy of shame of Lynn Carpenter and the top dogs at Thurrock Council remains.

"There must be something in the water at Thurrock Council boardroom level that makes them contemptuous of their responsibilities.

"This council is all too quick to jump on a little old lady who drops a sweet wrapper in the street and fine her, or chase up people for minor infractions rather than give a warning – but when it comes to itself, it seems it's above reproach.

"In itself, not publishing these figures and who earns what might not seem to be too big a thing to some, and clearly it doesn't trouble the council's political leaders who have almost become nodding dogs. But it's symptomatic of the entire Thurrock Council scenario, which puts self-interest of its own people first and puts residents and their right to know what's going on at the bottom of the pecking order.

"What will be interesting, if and when these figures are eventually published, is what the comparisons are. Last time out there were 18 people earning more than £100K. I found it hard to justify that.

"Given there are now more than 30 officers working at assistant director level or equal, it will hardly be surprising if that figure has grown – at a time when the council is shrinking budgets, making lower paid functionaries redundant and selling off the council's assets at a remarkable rate.

"It appears it's a case of 'do as I say, not as I do' when it comes to the council top brass – and sadly the succession of local government ministers who have come and gone in recent reshuffles appear neither to have the time or inclination to look at what's being done in Thurrock in their name."

What the Transparency Code says: -

Senior salaries

Information which must be published

Annual publication - Local authorities must place a link on their website to the following data or must place the data itself on their website:

1.      the number of employees whose remuneration in that year was at least £50,000 in brackets of £5,000

2.      details of remuneration and job title of certain senior employees whose salary is at least £50,000

3.      employees whose salaries are £150,000 or more must also be identified by name

4.      a list of responsibilities (for example, the services and functions they are responsible for, budget held and number of staff) and details of bonuses and 'benefits in kind', for all employees whose salary exceeds £50,000