Speaking as Chair of the Senedd’s Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee, North Wales MS Mark Isherwood, has highlighted serious governance issues at Museum Wales - Amgueddfa Cymru that led to significant costs for the public purse, as part of a “novel” and “contentious” settlement.
Disputes involving the organisation’s former Director General, former President and former Chief Operating Officer resulted in a cost to the public purse of over £750,000, with the Welsh Government contributing £40,500 to the overall cost of the Settlement Agreement.
In yesterday’s meeting of the Welsh Parliament, Mr Isherwood spoke of the Committee’s concerns about governance arrangements at Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales exposed during the Committee’s scrutiny of their 2021-22 Accounts, and the need for lessons to be learned across the wider public sector. The Committee’s Report was published in June 2024.
Leading a Debate on the Committee’s Report, Mr. Isherwood said:
“The Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee is grateful for the opportunity to discuss our report on Museum Wales - Amgueddfa Cymru's Accounts for 2021-22, which raised serious governance issues that led to significant costs for the public purse. The Committee's report was published on 26th June this year.
“The Auditor General for Wales raised concerns in the Amgueddfa's Financial Reports for 2020-21 and 2021-22. This led to significant public interest in the circumstances surrounding a series of disputes involving the organisation's former Director General, former President and former Chief Operating Officer.
“The Auditor General's subsequent work exposed serious governance issues relating to the financial settlement with the former Director General, the details of which are set out in his Public Interest Report, which may interest Members.
“Amgueddfa Cymru was also subject to a Welsh Government Tailored Review, whose report was published in July 2023 and made 77 recommendations, 27 of which related to governance. In his Public Interest Report, the Auditor General concluded that the settlement with the former Director was ‘novel’ and ‘contentious’, an opinion the Committee shared.”
He added:
“The Committee was extremely concerned that the arrangements for dealing with complaints and grievances proved wholly unsatisfactory. The breakdown of relationships at senior level was a foreseeable risk that should have been reflected in their policies and procedures. Whilst the Committee were satisfied that seeking a settlement was preferable to proceeding to an employment tribunal, having reviewed the private legal advice shared with the Committee, we were not satisfied with the rationale for the settlement figure arrived at, which was based on a notice period of 22 months, when the former Director General's contract of employment specified only a 12-month notice period. Indeed, the Auditor General for Wales concludes that the Amgueddfa had ‘not been able to demonstrate it acted in the best interests of the public purse’.
“At the time of the Auditor General's Public Interest Report into this matter, the total potential costs of the payment to the former Director General were £325,698, with further external legal and professional costs of £419,915, meaning a total settlement of £757,613. This includes a payment made to the former Chief Operating Officer, who retired on grounds of ill-health. This is especially troubling in the current financial climate, when these costs could have been avoided had stronger governance arrangements been in place. The Committee was saddened to hear about the financial pressures facing Amgueddfa Cymru, with around 90 jobs to be lost and a voluntary severance scheme in place.”
Mr Isherwood also stressed that the Committee was concerned that the Welsh Government decided to appoint the former President of the Amgueddfa to lead a review of Cadw, operating in the same heritage and culture sector as the Amgueddfa.
Mr Isherwood expressed concern that the Welsh Government rejected one of the Committee’s recommendations relating to a review of the grievance policies at other similar organisations.
He added:
“The Committee is satisfied that the Amgueddfa has responded to this regrettable situation and is in a better position to deal with a similar situation in the future. However, the Committee remains unconvinced that lessons have been learned across the wider public sector in light of these issues and we are concerned that a similar situation could occur elsewhere without more robust intervention from the Welsh Government. These risks are exacerbated by the introduction of the self-assessment review model, as I outlined above, which could lead to major issues at public bodies not being addressed until significant damage occurs.
“The Committee will be scrutinising the Welsh Government's oversight of its arm's-length and public bodies with interest. We encourage our equivalent policy Committees to do likewise, given our concerns.”
