Hundreds of thousands of pounds were paid in redundancies to county council staff over nine months last year, the Dorset Echo can reveal.

More than £900,000 was paid in redundancies over a nine-month period between April and December.

A total of 28 authority employees lost their job, however they received £938,130 in remuneration and severance package costs.

Of the 28, ten came from environment and economy, four came from the chief executive’s department and two from the adult and community, with the majority of these redundancies occurring in quarter two and three of the 2017/18 financial year, where 16 staff were let go.

The highest package was made to the environment and economy directorate in September totalling £137,235 which included redundancy and capitalised pension costs according to a report by the council’s head of organisational development, Jonathan Mair.

However, in the report, DCC said that this was the only pay off above £100,000 for staff below assistant director, service director and head of service level.

It added: “This redundancy was approved as part of a package of reducing support services to address a £257,000 shortfall in the service budget.”

The savings from the 28 redundancies in the report claimed that £1,012,242 was expected to be saved resulting in a net gain of £74,112.

In a statement, councillor Peter Wharf, chairman of the staffing committee and spokesman for workforce at Dorset County Council, admitted that it was an area of ‘concern’.

He added: “All of the redundancies have resulted in net benefits for the authority and therefore the council tax payer. We do not allow any to take place without a full and detailed evaluation, and it is not a decision made by one person.

“While I’m very comfortable that they have gone through the necessary process, it is something worth discussing.”

In the report, Mr Mair said there are still no further updates on from the Government in relation to plans to implement reforms relating to public sector exit payments.

The news comes after Rishi Sunak MP, Parliamentary under-secretary at the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government said in parliament last month that there would be very few cases where officers will receive redundancy payments above a cap of £95,000 following questions from a number of Dorset MPs ahead of the Dorset Council merger next April.

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesman said that they will be attempting to progress this policy in the coming months and that it still intended to implement a £95,000 cap on public sector exit payments which includes council staff but did not specify a specific timeframe.

The report will be discussed at a staffing committee on Monday.