Lancashire County Council has voted to appoint Angie Ridgwell to its controversial permanent role of chief executive and section 151 officer.
In a bitter meeting of the full council last week, Conservative councillors voted through the appointment, after opposition councillors abstained.
Labour and Liberal Democrat councillors complained that combining the role of chief executive and section 151 officer was contrary to good governance practice.
Labour group leader, councillor Azhar Ali, said: “Yes the conservative administration and leadership has the numbers and you will be able to appoint to whatever structure and role you want to define.
“But we as a council should be custodians of best practice and good governance.
“The decision that we are taking to combine the role and continue with that despite the advice we have had is negative and it is actually a stain on the reputation of this council.
“When you go down to London, the Local Government Association and other people of all political colours talk about what a basket case this council is and I don’t think that is helpful.”
It is understood that Ridgwell was the only applicant for the combined role.
Ali said that the council leadership had ignored the advice of recruitment consultants overseeing the process that combining the roles would lead to a reduction in the number of applicants.
He said: “The consultant made it very clear that, for the structure we were looking to impose – a chief executive combined with a section 151 officer – that there were probably only three people that undertook that role.
“Out of those three people, not one was someone who worked in a top tier authority or a county council.
“Therefore, we were at risk of only having one or possibly two applicants for the role of chief exec of the third or fourth largest authority in the country.”
Ali also complained that the salary and terms and conditions for the new role were being kept secret.
“Councillors are being asked blindly to vote for a contract they have not seen…” he said.
Liberal Democrat leader Cllr David Whipp, said: “The process that led to the former chief executive leaving, the way in which the role has been manipulated and I think the lack of interest in this post is indicative of the way this authority is viewed elsewhere as rather a basket case.
“Nothing whatsoever against Angie Ridgwell but we ought not to be in the position of a sole applicant for this post.
“If it is so unattractive to others then should we not be looking seriously at the nature of the role?”
In an angry riposte, council leader Geoff Driver said that the appointment was being made in accordance with the proper process.
He said: “The words of the opposition are just a feeble attempt to distract attention away from the absolute mess they made of the restructuring of this county council’s senior management…and some of the appointments they made to that structure.”
Last year, when the council decided to combine the two roles, a number of leading figures in the sector expressed discomfort.
Speaking to Room151, Pete Moore, then president of the Society of County Treasurers, of which Lancashire is a member council, said: “The chief executive (as head of paid service), the section 151 officer and the monitoring officer all play independent, statutory roles in the proper and effective governance of a council.
“They provide checks, challenges and balance in that governance.
“Any combination of those independent roles has the potential to dilute that and weaken overall governance.”
Ridgwell, who has been performing the joint role on an interim basis since January, after joining the council from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), where she was director general for finance and corporate services.
In a formal statement issued by the council, she said: “I am delighted to have been permanently appointed as chief executive and director of resources.
“Like every other local authority, Lancashire County Council faces challenges with growing demand and reducing resources. Together with staff and our partners, we are working hard to ensure the council delivers strong and sustainable services and that Lancashire has a great economic future that everyone can benefit from.”
