Penrith Town Council is facing scrutiny over actions over the last year the resulted in the council acting in an unlawful employment scandal that has recently come to light.
It has emerged Penrith Town council offering a job advertised with a salary of £45,000 to a serving town councillor and former town mayor who was due to start the role and resign as a councillor days before taking up the post, in direct violation of the Local Government Act 1972.
The incident, which occurred last August, has come to light after a freedom of information request was made by one of the candidates for the job who contacted our reporters about what they had uncovered in the information. The incident has raises serious concerns about the council's understanding of legislation, transparency, and commitment to upholding the law.
The Local Government Act 1972, explicitly stated that a councillor cannot accept a paid officer role within the same council for a period of 12 months after resigning.
However, it has emerged that Penrith Town Council acted to offer the position of Community Services Officer to a serving town councillor, with an email sent to all town councillors on the 12th August 2022 that stated the new starter would commence in post on 12th September 2022.
The Penrith Town Council Clerk said in an email sent to all tow council members at the time and seen in a freedom of information request “I am delighted to announce that Scott Jackson is our new Community Services Officer. Scott will be a considerable asset to the Council team with this extensive knowledge and passion for Penrith. Scott has demonstrated his commitment to Penrith and the Town Council having played a lead role in establishing the Town Council prior to 2015. As officers we have valued his contributions, support and guidance and we are all keen to work with him as an officer colleague. Scott will resign from the Council on 6 September.
Please be advised that we will make the information regarding our new officers formally public from 12 September when both our new colleagues start in post.”
The concerns surrounding the incident were brought to light by a now former town councillor who dared to speak up against the unlawful employment. Shockingly, the council responded to these concerns not with openness but with retribution. The whistleblower, whose actions were in the public interest, faced targeted measures by the council, creating an environment of fear and intimidation that resulted in the councillor deciding to stand down from the town council at the recent May elections.
The town council internally admitted that employing councillor Jackson was Unlawful and went against legislation set out in the 1972 Local Government Act.
The email show that the town council had promised the town councillor who raised the breach of the legislation that the issue would be made public in the next council meeting with a full report on the situation.
This report never came to the council in a public meeting resulting an alarming cover-up of the breach by the council.
Rather than taking immediate action to rectify the situation, the council chose to sweep the incident under the carpet, hoping it would go unnoticed.
The council officers informed the town mayor and deputy mayor that they had spoken with Cllr Jackson regarding the situation that he would resign still and take up a volunteer role with the council for the interim period. With a second induvial employed to fill the community engagement officer role advertised that Cllr Jackson had been due to start in the role of on the 12th of September 2022.
This deliberate lack of transparency and coverup by the town council raises serious doubts about the council's commitment to accountability and ethical governance.
The implications of Penrith Town Council's actions are far-reaching. By unlawfully employing a serving town councillor, the council has shown a blatant disregard for the legislation designed to ensure transparency and fair governance. The subsequent cover-up and retribution against the whistleblower further erode public trust in the council's ability to act in the best interests of the community.
Our investigation and details uncovered through freedom of information requests into this incident exposes severe flaws in the council's knowledge of governing laws and its commitment to transparency and accountability.
The incident will raise questions among the community of Penrith about the competence and diligence of council officers involved for ensuring compliance with legislation. Residents will be left questioning whether their elected officials truly prioritise serving the community or whether self-interest and ignorance prevail.
The individual who wishes to remain anonymous having been one of the job applicants last year who made the freedom of information request to the town council and uncovered the extent of the “Unlawful” actions said “The community of Penrith deserves a council that upholds the law, values transparency, and operates with integrity. Anything less undermines the very essence of democratic governance and erodes the trust that residents place in their elected representatives and the town council.”
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