DETAILS about whether Bolton Council’s former chief executive Paul Najsarek was paid-off after quitting his job last year will be released in “six to eight weeks,” it has been confirmed.

A meeting of the Bolton’s full council heard that the authority will be forced to publish the information in its annual accounts.

Council leader Cliff Morris also revealed for the first time that the council has twice contacted Mr Najsarek to ask him to waive a confidentiality clause so that the information can be made available and that on both occasions he refused.

Mr Najsarek — who this week started his new job as chief executive of Ealing Council in London — quit his job as Bolton’s top officer in November after just five months in charge.

He cited a need to “prioritise” his family life as the reason for his departure and the council has repeatedly insisted that he left of his own volition and for personal reasons.

In December, The Bolton News submitted a Freedom of Information Request which asked the council if any extra payments — additional to salary and holiday pay — were made to Mr Najsarek upon leaving his job and if so, how much and who approved the decision.

The request was rejected on the grounds that this is personal information and we have since asked for an internal review of that decision — but have received no result.

But at Wednesday’s meeting, in response to a further request for transparency on the issue from Tory Cllr Andy Morgan, Cllr Morris admitted for the first time that the information will be made public.

He said: "Under the Freedom of Information Act, when information relates to an individual the council has a duty to ask the individual whether it can give out information about them.

"In December the council asked the former chief executive whether it could release that information about him and he said no.

"We have recently asked him again and he still refused."

He added: "But that information will be published in the next 6 to 8 weeks in the council's accounts.

"It will be transparent and we will see everything that was done at that time, it will be out in the open."

Cllr Morgan said that if the accounts reveal that a payment was made, then it raises further questions.

He said: “If that is confirmed, then it doesn’t end there.

“Questions then need to be asked as to why it was given, why would someone be paid to leave their job?”

He added: “I asked the question again because I am sick to death of the subject, we are aware that this information will be in the public accounts, Paul Najsarek knows it will be so why couldn’t the leader have come out with this a long time ago, he must have known this when the original request was submitted.”

Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Morris revealed that he had actually contacted the Information Commissioner’s Office to see if the details could be released sooner — but was told that it would take a similar amount of time to when the accounts would be published.

He said: “With that being the case we felt it would save money to hang on for the accounts.

“I decided to explain the background to all this at the meeting because I have had enough and I want to put the issue to bed.

“When the accounts come out the chief executive has to be named and so all the details will be there.

“We did ask Paul twice if we could reveal the information but it is his private affairs and he said no — but we have to publish it all in the accounts.”

The Bolton News has attempted to contact Mr Najsarek for a response.