Meeting called over Pembrokeshire council chief's pay-off

Pembrokeshire council's chief executive is due to leave the job on Friday but a question mark is still hanging over his £330,000 pay-off deal.

One councillor has told BBC Wales there will be extraordinary meeting called next week after auditors blocked the settlement for Bryn Parry-Jones.

Auditors say they raised concerns before the deal was signed off.

The council said it has since been told satisfying a number of "relatively simple steps" could resolve the issue.

The payment notice was served on the council on Tuesday.

The council confirmed that its leader, Councillor Jamie Adams, spoke with the appointed auditor, Anthony Barrett from the Wales Audit Office (WAO), on Thursday to resolve the issues.

Councillors voted in favour of the deal on 16 October following the fallout from cash payments made to Mr Parry-Jones in lieu of pension contributions that the WAO said were unlawful.

Those additional payments have been used to calculate Mr Parry-Jones's pay-off and it is that which concerns the auditor.

The WAO said the authority was given this advice before the pay-off was agreed, but some councillors now say they were not made aware of this in advance of that meeting.

The auditor believes any new settlement should go before the council for approval.

Pembrokeshire council's Labour group leader, Councillor Paul Miller, said there will be an extraordinary meeting of the council next week.

However, it was due to be Mr Parry-Jones's last day in his post on Friday.

A spokesperson from Pembrokeshire council said "no comment" when asked whether the chief executive would be staying in his job or leaving then.