Royal Armouries pay rises defied Treasury directive
Government auditors uncover anomalies in 2011-12 accounts
Irregular pay increases at the Royal Armouries have been revealed as the reason government auditors refused to sign its 2011-12 accounts.
Director-general Jonathon Riley was suspended from his post last September while an internal review was carried out into an “auditing matter”. Six months later he resigned from the museum to pursue other roles and recover from treatment for cancer.
But a report by Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office (NAO), has revealed irregular pay increases to two members of the Royal Armouries staff that broke Treasury rules.
Despite a pay freeze for civil servants earning more than £21,000 a year, rises worth £5,000 and £4,000 were awarded to one Royal Armouries employee, while another was awarded £6,000 during 2011-12.
In a further incident, an employee received a 17.5% pay increase of £7,000.
An NAO statement said: “There is insufficient evidence that due process was followed in awarding these pay increases, and insufficient documentation to support any exceptional circumstances to justify pay increases for the individual members of staff. In the absence of any approval from the Treasury, the payments have been deemed irregular.”
The museum’s 2011-12 accounts, which should have been filed last July but were laid before parliament in April, refer to allegations “relating to the regularity of certain actions”, which led to Riley’s suspension while they were investigated.
Issues relating to control processes in HR, payment of business expenses and procurement were also noted.
The Royal Armouries has now implemented procedures that mean the final approval for all pay rises will have to be signed off by more than one individual. All directors’ pay increases will now be reviewed by the board.
Royal Armouries chairman Wes Paul said: “We acted swiftly and appropriately to work with the NAO to ensure that these irregularities will not happen again. I am confident that we now have the correct safeguards in place.”
Chris Walker continues to act as interim chief executive and accounting officer until a permanent replacement for Riley is appointed.
Director-general Jonathon Riley was suspended from his post last September while an internal review was carried out into an “auditing matter”. Six months later he resigned from the museum to pursue other roles and recover from treatment for cancer.
But a report by Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office (NAO), has revealed irregular pay increases to two members of the Royal Armouries staff that broke Treasury rules.
Despite a pay freeze for civil servants earning more than £21,000 a year, rises worth £5,000 and £4,000 were awarded to one Royal Armouries employee, while another was awarded £6,000 during 2011-12.
In a further incident, an employee received a 17.5% pay increase of £7,000.
An NAO statement said: “There is insufficient evidence that due process was followed in awarding these pay increases, and insufficient documentation to support any exceptional circumstances to justify pay increases for the individual members of staff. In the absence of any approval from the Treasury, the payments have been deemed irregular.”
The museum’s 2011-12 accounts, which should have been filed last July but were laid before parliament in April, refer to allegations “relating to the regularity of certain actions”, which led to Riley’s suspension while they were investigated.
Issues relating to control processes in HR, payment of business expenses and procurement were also noted.
The Royal Armouries has now implemented procedures that mean the final approval for all pay rises will have to be signed off by more than one individual. All directors’ pay increases will now be reviewed by the board.
Royal Armouries chairman Wes Paul said: “We acted swiftly and appropriately to work with the NAO to ensure that these irregularities will not happen again. I am confident that we now have the correct safeguards in place.”
Chris Walker continues to act as interim chief executive and accounting officer until a permanent replacement for Riley is appointed.