To select a preferred candidate to be appointed to the post of Chief Executive and recommend that candidate to full council.

To recommend to full council interim arrangements for the designation of head of paid service when the chief executive leaves in February 2021 and until the newly appointed chief executive is able to start in post.

To select a post holder to be designed as returning officer when the chief executive leaves in February 2021 and until the newly appointed chief executive is able to start in post.

After a full and rigorous recruitment process, including final interviews on Monday 11 January 2021, the employment panel agreed unanimously that, subject to there being no valid objections, Paul Walker be recommended to council as the council’s chief executive. 

The matter of the statutory roles of head of paid service and returning officer from 12 February 2021 were discussed.   The employment panel agreed that the solicitor to the council be designated as returning officer and recommend to full council that the solicitor to the council would also be head of paid service until the new chief executive was in post.  As the monitoring officer role could not hold these two other statutory roles at the same time, it was further agreed that the interim head of legal services be appointed as the acting monitoring officer until the new chief executive was in post.