WARRINGTON Borough Council spent more than £1 million in exit packages throughout 2021/22.

Across 30 staff redundancies between 2021-22, the average payout for each member of staff was £43,393 - which is almost double the national average payout for council staff.

The average local government payout in 2021-22 nationally was £22,000.

Each member of staff was, on average, given an exit payment of £15,000 more than the standard salary in Warrington - which sits at £28,000, according to Payscale.

In total, Warrington Borough Council spent £1,301,797 on exit packages over the last financial year - up nearly £200,000 from the year before, with a 15 per cent increase.

However, the payouts this year were significantly less than the 2019-20 financial year, where total exit packages cost the council more than £3 million.

Warrington Borough Council spent four per cent more on redundancy packages than in 2014-15 – when it let go of 65 employees at a total cost of £1.2 million.

The Local Government Association says that councils have had to make redundancies to reduce their workforce amidst increasing cuts.

Chair of the LGA resources board, Andrew Western, said that councils have made so many layoffs so they can manage budgets, and avoid increased pressure on taxpayers.

The redundancy package figures were released by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

Across England, the total amount spent on exit payments fell for the fifth-successive year, from £250 million in 2020-21 to £210 million last year.

However, more council staff were laid off than the year before, 9,744 compared to 9,454.

A spokesperson for Warrington Borough Council said: "As a result of ongoing austerity we have had to make significant savings, some of which unfortunately have to be achieved through the release of staff.

“We undertake a rigorous approach to the delivery of savings, which includes an assessment to ensure that the costs of any exit payments made to employees can be recovered within appropriate timescales.”