The rules are made by the politicians. For example, if you are aged 55+, are made redundanct and are a member of the Local Government Pension Scheme your employer is legally obliged to pay for the costs of the employee accessing their pension early. The employee can take their pension without any actuarial reduction. The one-off cost to the employer can amount to tens or, indeed, hundreds of thousands of pounds - Regulation 19 of “The Local Government Pension Scheme (Benefits, Membership and Contributions) Regulations 2007
I wouldn't be surprised to find that this officer is in this age-group. This perk is, of course, available, to staff at all levels, not just the most senior.
You will also fuind that redundancy terms in local authorities are much more generous than the statutory terms. One LA not far from here has a policy of doubling the number of weeks eligible for redundancy pay and they also base the calculation on actual salary whioch is very good news for the high earners.