THE boss at Glasgow’s largest council spin-off company quit his £105,000 a year post after a whistleblower made allegations about hospitality he received.
Andy Clark, who was Director of Services at Cordia, quit suddenly after a near 18-month stint in the top job.
Scottish Conservative MSP Annie Wells said: “The council should be upfront with the people of Glasgow and let them know exactly what went on here.”
Created by the city council in 2009, Cordia is the biggest provider of home care, facilities management and catering services in the country.
It employs over 6,600 staff and was one of a number of arms-length external organisations (ALEOS) set up by the previous Labour administration.
However, Cordia has been embroiled in an equal pay dispute and was dogged by a long-running janitors’ strike. After 67 days of strike action, janitors agreed a pay deal over plans to reorganise the service.
In September, the organisation was thrown into further turmoil after it emerged that Clark, who earned £105,091 in “salary, fees and expenses”, had quit his post.
In a brief one-line statement, a Cordia spokesperson said at the time: “After 23 years serving the public sector, our director of services Andy Clark has decided to pursue a career in the private sector.”
However, it is understood a whistleblower had come forward recently to make claims about hospitality enjoyed by Clark. An internal audit was launched by the council, after which Clark handed in his resignation.
Over the last 12 months, high-profile figures have left either the council or its spin-off firms, all for different reasons.
Brian Devlin quit as director of the council’s land and environmental services department after a lengthy suspension, while Jobs and Business Glasgow chief executive Calum Graham was suspended over issues relating to the jobs quango before being dismissed.
The fresh details of Clark's departure come days after the SNP-led administration in Glasgow launched an investigation into the activities of previous Labour administrations.
Council leader Susan Aitken appointed Colin Mair of the Improvement Service to review the past decisions and practices of her predecessors, a post described as a “transparency" tsar.
However, despite the openness blitz the council is saying little about Clark leaving.
Asked if the council wanted to comment on the whistleblower claims and internal audit, a council spokesman said: “We don’t comment on the content of whistleblow complaints or internal audit investigations. I can confirm that Mr Clark has resigned.”
Wells added: “The SNP came to power in Glasgow promising transparent local government. But it seems in one of the first tests of that it has failed miserably."
Green MSP Patrick Harvie said: “ALEOs should not simply become mechanisms for avoiding public scrutiny and accountability. For clarity, Cordia should make the findings of the internal audit available to the public. Hopefully the company’s accounts, due to be published by the end of December, will also shed more light on the matter.”
The council said that Clark had been passed this newspaper’s contact details, should he want to comment.
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