A DISPUTE over the cost of the long-running pay scandal involving senior Caerphilly council staff has emerged after Plaid Cymru claimed the “real” cost to the taxpayer stands at £4.5million.

Caerphilly County Borough Council’s (CBC) chief executive Anthony O’Sullivan, deputy Nigel Barnett and head of legal services Daniel Perkins were suspended in 2013 after accusations of misconduct. After charges were dropped against the trio in October 2015, the officers remained suspended on full pay as the council undertook internal investigations.

Mr O’Sullivan’s suspension was transferred to a period of ‘special paid leave’ in 2016. Figures released to Cllrs last year said the total cost of the legal cases - combined with the three officers’ salaries - totalled around £2.5 million by March 2017.

Leader of Caerphilly’s Plaid Cymru group, Cllr Colin Mann, has claimed a Freedom of Information (FOI) request revealed additional costs which could have “provided millions of pounds for frontline services” including “resurfacing around 50 miles of roads” or “building two new schools”.

He said: “Imagine what £4.5m could have been spent on. Money for frontline services, not for salaries, lawyers and auditor’s fees.”

The scandal involved the three officers agreeing to give themselves pay rises of up to 20 per cent at a time when the majority of council staff and Caerphilly taxpayers were enduring pay freezes. At the time Mr O’Sullivan’s salary was increased by £32,000 but this was later reduced to £5,000 after staff and unions opposed it.

A damning Wales Audit Office report also criticised the local authority for “failures” and “inadequacies” and deemed the increases as “unlawful” in the way they were set.

Plaid Cymru state the £2.5million figure released by the council did not take into account the estimated costs that 20 officers will earn by April 2017 as a result of a 2012 pay rise deal. This includes around £1,428,000 in additional costs for 20 officers pay and a £580,827 council spend on the salaries of interim chief executives Stuart Rosser and Chris Burns.

The council have maintained the cost stands at around £2.5million and said figures quoted in the Plaid Cymru FOI relate to costs outside of the investigation.

A council spokesman said: “The ongoing disciplinary investigation into three senior officers has resulted in additional costs to the authority totalling £2.5million to date. It is important to note that a portion of these costs were incurred during the police investigation which lasted over two years.

“During this time the council was advised that it was unable to undertake its own proceedings and therefore the timescales have extended beyond what was originally anticipated.”

He added: "All appropriate steps are being taken to progress this matter as quickly as possible, but the investigation must be conducted fairly and thoroughly in accordance with an agreed statutory process.”