National Museum Wales: Payment of £325k to ex-chief questioned
- Published
David Anderson left museum Wales in March 2023
Questions have been raised over payments totalling £325,000 to a former senior official at the body running Wales' national museums.
The head of Wales' public spending watchdog said he was not satisfied that the decisions leading to a deal with Museum Wales' ex-director general David Anderson "complied with charity law".
The payments followed a long-running dispute between the two parties.
Museum Wales said its board of trustees had "acted under legal guidance".
The payments included a salary of £225,000, including pension and national insurance, and £50,000 tax free, described as "compensation for injury to his feelings".
In his report to the Senedd, Auditor General for Wales Adrian Crompton asked if the trustees had made "sound and informed decisions" in the museum's best interests and if the payments "conformed with the framework of authorities governing them".
National Museum Cardiff is in the heart of Cardiff's civic centre
Mr Crompton also queried whether it was right to hold the negotiation with Mr Anderson and to give responsibility for it to two trustees.
In addition, he wrote that from September 2021 to March 2022, all the board of trustees' business was carried out by e-mail with no meetings in person or online.
The auditor general said as a result he had "significant concern" over the museum's "approach to decision-making during this period" and "the lack of documentation to support key decisions relating to the settlement agreement".
Mr Crompton said this may have cost "significant" extra public money in legal fees and a "significant amount of time" spent on it by senior executives at the museum and Welsh government.
He was considering writing another report to detail his concerns about the way in which it was handled, and the costs associated, he said.
However, he did acknowledge the museum sought advice from its external legal advisers throughout the dispute.
What is an auditor general?
The auditor general's role involves examining how most Welsh public bodies manage and spend money.
Museum Wales is a charity and it runs seven museums and one collections centre.
These include the National Museum Cardiff and the National Slate Museum in Llanberis, Gwynedd.
Mr Anderson was appointed to the role in 2010 and left in March 2023 under an agreement with the museum.
The settlement was to resolve "a longstanding formal, employment dispute" between Mr Anderson and the museum. The two sides agreed it to avoid going to an employment tribunal.
The auditor general - writing in the museum board of trustees' 2021-22 financial report - spelled out the detail of what he called "irregular payments" agreed in the deal with Mr Anderson, including the £50,000 "compensation for injury to his feelings".
The auditor general's report did not include further details about this.
Exhibits at St Fagans National Museum of History in Cardiff include this original 19th Century shop front
It was decided under the deal that Mr Anderson would have a new role as the museum's emeritus fellow and visiting professor at Cardiff University.
He would remain employed by the museum on his existing pay until March 2024 but he would not be accountable to the museum in the new role.
His working week would then be cut to two days and his employment would end in September 2024.
A statement from Museum Wales on behalf of the board of trustees said the events occurred "during an extremely challenging period for the museum" but they had "always acted under legal guidance and, working with Welsh government, considered all available options in the best interests" of the museum.
It added a number of learnings had been taken from the period which included a "new senior grievance policy" and revised "terms and conditions" for the new chief executive role. A review of "governance processes and procedures" was also under way.
The Welsh government said it was aware of the report but it would not be appropriate to comment.
Mr Anderson has been asked to comment.
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