Lothian bus boss Richard Hall left his role as the highest paid public official in Edinburgh under a cloud of decaying relationships and questions over transparency.

Exact details over Mr Hall’s departure, including any potential golden handshake, have not been released beyond the leaving date of 6 March.

Lothian did not answer questions about why the managing director has decided to step down from his role or if he has received any money as part of his departure, stating the company did not wish to add anything to their initial press release.

Lothian buses boss Richard Hall will step down by 6 March (Photo: Lothian Bus)

However, emails obtained by the Evening News paint a picture of a managing director scared of public and private scrutiny as senior councillors lost patience with his handling of multiple scandals which rocked the publicly owned bus company in 2019.

Mr Hall is also understood to have dodged meetings with union representatives for five months in the run up to the threatened strike action in August last year, as well as being replaced by new interim managing director Nigel Serafini at public events.

His bus company also refused to release details of his £15,000 expenses to this newspaper before publicly releasing outline numbers quietly on Monday following the announcement of his departure.

Lothian have also blocked attempts to release detailed information about lost mileage - when buses are taken off the road due to maintenance, congestion or staffing - while Mr Hall refused to have a sit-down interview with the Evening News in July last year at the height of the threats around potential strikes.

The battles to force Lothian to release the information and Mr Hall’s expenses are both with the Scottish Information Commissioner.

Lothian said they publish figures in line with publicly owned transport operators and respond to freedom of information requests in line with legislation.

Chair Jim McFarlane added senior officials meet with union and attend council meetings regularly.

Questions over the council administration’s role in his departure have been raised by opposition councillors, with Conservative group chairman Jason Rust saying the circumstances around his departure must be “urgently” brought to light.

Edinburgh City Council’s transport convener Lesley Macinnes said Mr Hall’s departure was “quite rightly” a matter for Lothian.

Transport convener was 'deeply concerned'

Emails sent between Lothian chair Jim McFarlane and Lesley Macinnes show relationships between the council and the publicly owned bus company were strained throughout last year.

In one message, sent on 7 May last year, Cllr Macinnes writes in reference to concerns over buggy and wheelchair space on new ‘super buses’ that she was “deeply concerned” that issues were not being addressed and “there is considerable resistance to any acceptance of the issues raised”.

She continues “This does not bode well, in my opinion, for any kind of positive resolution and a change in public perceptions. The risk to the Lothian brand is considerable on both issues.”

In the same email chain, Cllr Macinnes makes clear her intention to speak to Mr Hall about the issues at a public meeting with the Edinburgh Bus Users Group (EBUG), only for Mr McFarlane to state he would be replaced by Mr Serafini at the event.

Correspondence also shows Mr Hall avoided meeting with Union representative Lyn Turner for more than five months in advance of threatened strike action over bullying allegations within Lothian management.

A later email in August from Cllr Macinnes shows a further breakdown in relationship, with frustration over Mr Hall’s lack of availability to meet with concerned passengers with accessibility needs.

In trying to get a meeting organised, Cllr Macinnes said she had been trying “repeatedly” to organise a meeting with “no other suggested dates from your end”.

She added: “It is imperative that this meeting takes place in the very near future...Lothian Buses cannot surely be seen to ignore these concerns.”

'The council administration needs to be transparent for its own sake'

Conservative group chairman, councillor Jason Rust said: “We urgently need to know the role of the Administration in this departure and that all proper procedures have been followed.

“It is extremely concerning that yet another organisation in which this Council has a major stake is in a state of upheaval and staff and customers of this publicly owned company have a right to understand the reasons which led to this departure. The Council Administration needs to be transparent for its own sake.

“We already know of concerns publicly aired about Lothian Buses guaranteeing the £20million extraordinary dividend for the tram and of course the company has been warning of service disruption during the tramworks on Leith Walk.

“There were reported disagreements over its response to the Council’s Summertime street project and questions have been raised around the impact of the 20mph limit on bus services.

“However, the Council has to be absolutely clear about the division of responsibilities and that in accordance with legislation that there is no political interference.”

Matter was 'quite rightly' for Lothian Board

Transport and Environment Convener Councillor Lesley Macinnes said: “Any decision or negotiation regarding the role of Managing Director was, quite rightly, a matter for the Lothian Board.

“There has, however, been an ongoing dialogue between the Council and Lothian on a range of issues, most, if not all of which have been publicly discussed by Transport and Environment Committee and will continue to be addressed where necessary.”

Jim McFarlane, Chair of Lothian said: “Lothian is obligated to respond to all requests for information made under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2000 in line with current legislation.

“In the interest of transparency Lothian publishes figures on its website which includes our full annual accounts as well as the expenses of the Managing Director. Expenses for 2018 and 2019 are detailed separately online in a standard followed by other publicly owned transport operators such as Transport for London.

“Mr Hall’s expenses include his expenses and costs from his roles as Vice and subsequently Chair of the Confederation of Passenger Transport Scotland (CPT), the trade association representing the UK Bus and Coach Industry – a role for which Lothian bears the cost.

“The most appropriate senior officials meet with trade union representatives from Unite on a regular basis and Lothian’s executive leadership team frequently undertake public and political engagements with senior representation attending as required.

“In addition the Managing Director and Chair regularly attend council meetings with officials and elected representatives from all four of our local authority shareholders.”

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Lothian Buses refuse to explain why boss left £227,700 role under cloud of controversy and transparency concerns