The borough council has posted the following information on its website:
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“Update on independent investigation
“Monday, 28 October, 2019
“The independent investigation into payment of an additional duties allowance to the Chief Executive is still ongoing.
“Browne Jacobson is the legal firm who were appointed to carry out the investigation. We have been advised that a final report is not likely to be made available to the Council for a number of weeks.
“The Council remains committed to completing this investigation in a thorough and robust manner.”
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In the meantime, we have submitted a formal ‘Complaint’ to the Information Commissioner’s Office about the council’s refusal to reveal its procedure for making financial awards in general to the Chief Executive. We don’t expect a rapid response.
The Camberley Eye 
Why have they employed a legal firm to ‘investigate’ their processes and procedures?
I would have thought they would be appointing a compliance or auditing firm like KPMG et al?
This smells.
It doesn’t smell – it stinks. A few senior people must know exactly what happened. Why don’t they just tell us? Why do WE have to pay lawyers (or anyone else) to find out the truth. Those senior people are behaving disgracefully – they should go.
It certainly stinks – Expect a suitable scapegoat to be chosen while everyone else develops slopey shoulders
I think they’re just sharpening the knife.
Independence & impartial? Yeah – Right…
What’s the likelihood that this legal firm is currently formulating a defence position for the council.
I would not expect the investigation to take more than a few days – it’ll be interviewing a small number of people and studying a small number of simple documents. Spending weeks on the exercise is likely to be a case of ‘more is less’ – the outcome is likely to be a very muddy conclusion.
I could not agree more. Why will this investigation take so long? IF there is a procedure for the awarding pay rises it should surely be a simple matter to interview those involved and decide if the correct procedure was followed. And quite why your FOI request, for what the procedure is, cannot be answered without delay, is simply bizarre.
It’s hard to justify a big bill if the job is done quickly, of course…
If they need a proper scapegoat then they need to do a proper investigation.
And then, maybe another one – just to make sure the knife is in deep enough.
Surely, the end result will be that no-one did anything wrong? No need of a scapegoat…
I expect that the legal firm has already reached their pre-arranged conclusion and that the council are already sharpening their knives.
Words fail me – suffice it to say …. ‘WALOB’
Yep.
Expect a thorough and robust cover up.
No – expect a thorough and robust back stabbing
But everyone is blameless…
Robust – or just impenetrably muddy?
And the guilty parties will be……
The former council leader (retired)
The CEO (on ‘special leave’)
Everyone else will be Teflon coated.
What odds will you give me?
Surrey Heath Teflon Coated. SH Blameless and TC
That seems rather likely…