THE COST of the long-running pay scandal involving senior Caerphilly council staff is to rise to more than £2.5 million, the council’s own figures have confirmed.

Caerphilly County Borough Council’s (CBC) chief executive Anthony O’Sullivan, deputy Nigel Barnett and head of legal services Daniel Perkins were suspended on full pay in 2013 after accusations of misconduct.

Now, by the end of the current financial year in March 2017, the total cost of the legal cases involved - combined with the three officers’ salaries - will total £2,513,979.

The details were released to councillors by the authority’s interim chief executive Chris Burns, after Blackwood councillor Nigel Dix asked for a total update during a full council meeting.

Councillor Dix said: “I knew what the amount was roughly, we all knew, but when I asked the question at the full council, I wanted the officers to admit it.

“The scandal has constantly got worse and been thoroughly mishandled.

“I feel for members of the public and the average taxpayer, who don’t deserve to be treated so badly.”

The figures follow news that the suspension of Mr O’Sullivan was secretly lifted in March this year.

The scandal involved the three officers agreeing to give themselves pay rises in 2012, of up to 20 per cent at a time when the majority of council staff and taxpayers were enduring pay freezes.

At the council meeting on Tuesday November 22, members approved further funds of £150,000 to the ongoing investigation. It was the second time the council had increased the amount, after agreeing to £502,000 in July.

The breakdown of the £2.5m total includes salary pay-outs to Mr O’Sullivan during his suspension, of £741,867.56, with Mr Barnett receiving £658,701.66, and Mr Perkins £360,776.73.

Legal costs so far are estimated to be around £515,058, while the cost of two public interest reports from the Wales Audit Office (WAO) totalled £33,239.34 and £17,276.30.

The figures also show that a Wales Audit Office governance review of the council cost £132,700, while governance support totalled £54,359.27.

Interim chief executive Mr Burns gave no assurances when asked last month whether the figure will increase in future, saying: “I have no idea, that depends how long the process takes to be dealt with.

“No one can predict [that].”

Mr Burns said it would be ‘around February to March’ if the figure was to rise again.

Caerphilly CBC were asked for comment.