FOLLOWING the revelation last week that Wiltshire Council had spent £275,784.19 between 2014-2017 'gagging' employees who leave, often after a dispute with the authority, on Tuesday councillors learned they had spent over £700,000 on these deals since the council in under 10 years.

LibDem group leader Ian Thorn had asked the full council meeting to be told "the total amount of money paid by Wiltshire to employees who have signed non-disclosure contracts since 2009 (when the council was formed)".

Responding to Mr Thorn’s initial written question Cllr Richard Clewer, cabinet member for Cabinet Member for Housing, Corporate Services, Arts, Heritage and Tourism, said: “I am confused by this question because all staff sign a non-disclosure agreement so this is about £1.2m, the entire wage packets since 2009.”

Cllr Thorn replied: “What is the authority’s figure published, what is the amount of money this council has paid to employees since 2009 in relation to non-disclosure agreements?”

Cllr Clewer said: “There have been 57 arrangements since 2009 totalling £720,208. That is around £14,400 per person and can I just say it is additionally worth noting these aren’t exceptionally uncommon.

"I recall in my last role at a consultancy in London having signed one at beginning, I was asked to sign one again at the end of my employment. So these are totally normal and the suggestion these are abnormal I find a bit odd.”

Mr Thorn was asking about what are officially called compromise orders, which involve cash paid by the council to ex-employees, especially those who leave after issues involving staff's prolonged absence, whether through health or other reasons, and disciplinaries.

They are known as 'gagging' orders as they often include a strict clause preventing staff from complaining or criticising their former bosses if they accept the payout.

The number of former employees silenced by the council has fallen recently, with only two agreements signed last year.

Cllr Thorn had earlier said: “We are scrounging around for money to repair roads and we are contemplating closing two of the county’s critical outdoor centres because we can’t afford to keep them open, yet here we are spending a fortune on trying to shut former employees up.

“Given that the Conservatives claim they are running an open and transparent council, one wonders what could be so bad about working there that they feel so strongly about silencing employees with mighty sums of money.

“If their experience working in the council was so negative, we need to hear about it to improve the practice.”

Cllr Ricky Rogers, leader of the Labour Party, also believes gagging orders should not be used.

He said: “Gagging orders shouldn’t exist. It is crazy that workers are being given hush money when there is no logical sense for it.

“If the authority has done something wrong, we should be putting our hands up and saying sorry, not paying them off to keep quiet about it. It is absolutely scandalous and the public deserve to know why.”