On 17th July, it was announced that the SKDC Chief Executive, Aidan Rave, was leaving the council to ‘pursue new ventures’. According to the blurb, Aidan had been with the council for two years and steered the authority through a period of significant change. Like so many other senior officers at Lincolnshire councils he was helped on his way with a financial settlement. The value of the golden handshake has not been revealed but, according to the Stamford Mercury, a cabinet member believed there was an ‘amicable settlement’ of around £75,000.

It is abundantly clear that Aidan didn’t spontaneously volunteer to ‘pursue new ventures’. We know this because just 8 months earlier he was participating in a ‘Future Visioning Programme’ which involved travel to Boston… I don’t mean Boston, Lincolnshire, I mean the other Boston in the USA.

The cost of the return flight to Boston was over £1,000. The cost of the course, which included 12 days of workshops or training, was a further £3,900. When the additional accommodation and mileage is added in, it can be shown that the total cost of this ‘Future Visioning’ was over £5,000.

I think it’s great that a local authority is prepared to invest in the personal development of its staff and it’s not uncommon. Back in the ’90s, as a relatively junior member of staff I was sponsored by my local authority employer to study an MSc. At the time, my study was subject to ‘golden handcuffs’ meaning that if I left local government within a specified period I would have to pay back some or all of the costs of my training.

Given the stories in the Grantham Journal that Aidan Rave’s sudden departure was due to a “clash of personalities” and a “big row” between him and the then leader of the council, Cllr Matthew Lee (Con), somehow I doubt if anyone will have asked Mr Rave for a refund.