Former head of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority given £94,500 pay off

Martin Whiteley had only been in his post at the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority since June last year when he resigned in August.

Mr Whiteley had first of all been the interim chief executive of the combined authority when it was created in March 2016. Before then he had been the chief executive of the Blue Marble Group and managing director of Capita Consulting, the management consultancy arm of the Capita Group.

Today a Freedom of Information Request (FOI) put in by The Peterborough Telegraph said: “We can confirm that Mr Whiteley’s employment came to an end on 30 September 2018 and, save for the figure referred to below, no payments were made to him after this date.

“In terms of the Settlement Agreement figures, whilst the Authority maintains an exemption under Section 40 (Personal Information) in relation to the agreement itself, we can confirm that Mr Whiteley was paid the sum of £94,500 which included notice and compensation for loss of office and which were subject to the normal rules in relation to deductions for PAYE and NI.”

The FOI also revealed Mr Whiteley had not written a resignation letter. The Peterborough Telegraph had asked to see the notice of resignation, and The FOI said: “Mr Whiteley’s employment ended by resignation by mutual agreement. We assume that by “notice of resignation”, you in fact mean letter of resignation. We can confirm that there was no letter of resignation and therefore the Authority does not hold this information. There is no requirement for written notice of resignation.”

His resignation was revealed in an email by Peterborough City Council Cllr John Holdich which was then leaked to the Peterborough Telegraph. Cllr Holdich wrote: “Martin has done a great job in setting up and running the combined authority but is leaving to pursue new interests.

“We wish him well for the future and his position, in the short term, will be filled by a combination of Mrs Kim Sawyer (no stranger to Peterborough herself), supported by Mr John Hill, chief executive of East Cambridgeshire District Council.”

Cllr Holdich is deputy mayor of the combined authority which is led by Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough James Palmer.

The Peterborough Telegraph has contacted Mayor Palmer’s office for comment.