South Wales Evening Post - 6 January 2006
Another top boss at Swansea Council is at the centre of an official inquiry, it emerged today.
The council's chief executive Tim Thorogood is due to find out on Monday if he will be suspended following complaints about a planning application at his Rhossili home.
An inquiry has been launched into those claims to see if the £120,000-a-year chief executive broke planning rules.
Now it has emerged that his deputy Bob Carter is also at the centre of an investigation.
Mr Carter was given the role of acting chief executive because of the investigation into Mr Thorogood.
Now the council's external auditor PriceWaterhouse Cooper is understood to be probing the retirement package agreed for Mr Carter, who is due to leave in April.
It is not known whether Mr Carter himself will be investigated.
The inquiry, by the council's independent auditor, is expected to focus on who agreed the package offered to Mr Carter. The investigation was launched after a query from Labour leader David Phillips. He had written to Mr Thorogood before the storm over his Rhossili home erupted.
Mr Thorogood has not been at work since the accusations were made public, so the letter was handed to the council's monitoring officer.
Councillor Phillips confirmed he had sent a letter regarding the acting chief executive, but refused to give details of the content.
However, a letter from the council's legal chief, David Daycock, seen by the Post, confirm that Councillor Phillips's letter has been passed on for investigation.
It says: "In view of the serious nature of the questions set out in your letter, and that the chief executive and the deputy chief executive are directly involved in the matters referred to, I have forwarded the letter to Mr Ian Howes of PriceWaterhouseCoopers, as auditors to investigate the issues raised."
A council spokesman said: "The council has received questions from Councillor David Phillips in relation to the senior management review considered by council.
"Since the questions would normally be answered by officers who are affected by the review, it has been decided the council's external auditors would be best placed to deal with Councillor Phillips's questions."
