Derbyshire County Council axes chief executive to save money

Derbyshire County Council has agreed to axe the role of chief executive and cut its top management team.
Derbyshire County Council's Matlock headquarters.Derbyshire County Council's Matlock headquarters.
Derbyshire County Council's Matlock headquarters.

Councillors approved the proposals - which will save more than £300,000-a-year - during a meeting on Wednesday.

The plans will result in two existing top-tier posts being abolished - the assistant chief executive and the strategic director of corporate resources - in addition to that of chief executive.

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A single new post, a strategic director of commissioning, communities and policy, will be created. This role will 'focus on making sure the council provides quality services which are good value for money', according to a spokesman for the Conservative-led authority.

Councillor Barry Lewis, leader of the council, said: "It's our public duty to constantly look for savings to balance our books.

"That sometimes means being bold and doing things differently − it's the right thing to do because every saving we make helps us to carry on providing quality frontline services for the people of Derbyshire.

"We have been as open and transparent as we can possibly be, given that individual employees are affected.

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"But I want to be absolutely clear that, while the legal rights of the employees will of course be respected, there is no intention of making any 'golden handshake' payments."

He added: "As well as cutting costs on senior managers, we've also reduced the allowances paid to our councillors holding positions on cabinet by around 12 per cent, saving the council just under £29,000 a year."

The council is currently consulting with affected employees and it is expected that the new management structure will be implemented towards the end of the year.