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Two former senior directors at Kent County Council earned £670,000 between them in a single year after receiving six-figure pay-offs when they left their jobs.

Kent County Council has refused to identify the two individuals or provide details of the specific sums involved, saying they are bound by confidentiality agreements.

In the case of one, the annual salary and termination agreement meant one former director's remuneration package was between £370,000 to £379,000 when the individual left the authority in 2009.

The second secured a total package, including salary, of between £300,000 and £310,000.

In the case of one, county councillors sanctioned the payout offered to the departing director but asked the Audit Commission, the public spending watchdog, to comment on the agreement and the sums involved.

The pay-offs follow the disclosure that seven former directors at KCC between them received nearly £1million in pay-offs over the last five years.

KCC said those pay-offs, sometimes given to employees as so-called compromise agreements to avoid claims against unfair dismissal, were not unusual for an authority of its size. It also said that in each case, the council had acted appropriately.

However, it declined to comment on the details of the two former directors.

Cllr Roger Gough, KCC's cabinet member for corporate services, said KCC could not comment on the specific details.

"We cannot comment further on the figures which appear in the statement of accounts for legal reasons."

From next year, all councils will by law have to publish the full details of remuneration for all employees earning more than £150,000, including any sums for exit packages, bonuses, pensions and perks.

The details will have to be incorporated into the authority's statement of accounts and follows growing concern among all three main political parties over public sector pay awards.