Suspensions up at council

Figures released to the Shropshire Star show that in the past 12 months, 27 people at the council have been suspended, seven have been disciplined, four have been dismissed and four cases are still open.

In 2002, eight people were suspended, eight people had disciplinary sanctions against them and three were dismissed.

Council chiefs were unable to say how much it cost to pay for temporary staff to cover the positions or how much they had continued to pay suspended staff.

David Johnson, the council's head of human resources, said he had no information about how many resigned while suspended, because no records were kept.

Mr Johnson said: "The focus of the suspension period is to investigate allegations and take appropriate action.

"Clearly an investigation involving a high number of witnesses in a complex case takes longer than a straightforward simple investigation."

The most high-profile recent suspension involved the authority's education chief Christine Davies, pictured above, who was awarded the CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours.

She was suspended as a "precautionary" measure until an independent investigation is carried out. No further details have been released.

Council chiefs say they do their best to treat staff fairly and insist the public can have confidence that the authority operates to the highest standards.

Kate Bond, spokeswoman for the council, said: "The suspension of an officer ensures that any investigation into possible wrongdoing is conducted fairly and protects the individual member of staff as much as it does the council.

"The increase seems high in terms of percentages, but 27 suspensions during 2005/06 out of a workforce of 6,000 is proportionately low given the fact that many of our services operate around the clock every day, often in vulnerable people's homes."