Committee Report Checklist
Stage 1
Report checklist – responsibility of report owner
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ITEM |
Yes / No |
Date |
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Councillor engagement / input from Chair prior to briefing |
Y |
07/01/2026 16/02/2026 |
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Commissioner engagement (if report focused on issues of concern to Commissioners such as Finance, Assets etc) |
Y |
19/01/26 |
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Relevant Group Head review |
Y |
19/01/26 |
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MAT+ review (to have been circulated at least 5 working days before Stage 2) |
N/A |
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This item is on the Forward Plan for the relevant committee |
N |
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Reviewed by |
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Finance comments (circulate to Finance) |
AB |
18/02/26 |
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Risk comments (circulate to Lee O’Neil) |
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Legal comments (circulate to Legal team) |
LH |
16/02/26 |
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HR comments (if applicable) |
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For reports with material financial or legal implications the author should engage with the respective teams at the outset and receive input to their reports prior to asking for MO or s151 comments.
Do not forward to stage 2 unless all the above have been completed.
Stage 2
Report checklist – responsibility of report owner
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ITEM |
Completed by |
Date |
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Monitoring Officer commentary – at least 5 working days before MAT |
L Heron |
19/02/26 |
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S151 Officer commentary – at least 5 working days before MAT |
T.Collier |
18/2/26 |
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Confirm final report cleared by MAT |
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Title |
Appointment of Interim Chief Executive and Head of Paid Service |
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Purpose of the report |
To make a decision
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Report Author |
Linda Heron, Group Head Corporate Governance and Monitoring Officer |
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Ward(s) Affected |
All Wards
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Exempt |
Report – no Appendix 1 – yes |
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Exemption Reason |
Appendix 1 contains exempt information within the meaning of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985 and by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006 Paragraph 1 (information relating to any individual), Paragraph 2 (information which is likely to reveal the identity of an individual) and Paragraph 3 (information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information) and in all circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. |
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Corporate Priority |
This item is not in the current list of Corporate Priorities but still requires Council decision.
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Recommendations
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Council is asked to:
Approve the recommendation of the Appointments and Appeals Committee to appoint the preferred candidate to the role of Interim Chief Executive and Head of Paid Service for the period from 2 March 2026 to 31 March 2027 on the terms set out in this report.
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Reason for Recommendation |
In accordance with the Council’s Constitution the appointment of the Chief Executive and Head of Paid Service is recommended by the Appointments and Appeals Committee for decision by the Council. |
1. Executive summary of the report (expand detail in Key Issues section below)
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What is the situation |
Why we want to do something |
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• The Council’s permanent Chief Executive and Head of Paid Service stepped down in December 2025. |
• The Council’s S.151 Officer is acting as the Chief Executive and Head of Paid Service on the interim basis and this position is not sustainable long term. |
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This is what we want to do about it |
These are the next steps |
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• To appoint the Chief Executive and Head of Paid Service for the period up to 31 March 2027 |
• To consider the recommendation from the Appointments and Appeals Committee contained in this report and make a recommendation to Council |
2. Key issues
2.1 Section 4 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 requires the Council to designate an officer as its Head of Paid Service. This report seeks approval for the appointment of the Chief Executive post who will be designated as the Council’s Head of Paid Service. Details of the proposed candidate accompany this report in Appendix 1.
2.2 On 11 December 2025 the Council:
- approved appointment of Terry Collier, Deputy Chief Executive and S.151 Officer as Interim Chief Executive, Head of Paid Service and Returning and Electoral Registration Officer until such time as a permanent successor is appointed; and
- authorised the Lead Commissioner Lesley Seary to commence the recruitment process for a new permanent chief executive.
2.3 Local Government Reorganisation limits the duration of this appointment to 31 March 2027, when the Council will cease to exist, significantly reducing the pool of candidates willing to consider the role. Coupled with the urgent operational need to appoint a successor Chief Executive to alleviate the resourcing pressures arising from the Deputy Chief Executive’s recent appointment at a critical stage in the Council’s improvement and recovery work, the most practical and expedient approach was to utilise established executive recruitment agency support with access to a pool of experienced senior leaders with proven track records across local government rather than undertake a traditional recruitment process.
2.4 From late 2025 / early 2026 a recruitment process has been undertaken with the Lead Commissioner carrying out initial pre-sifting of potential candidates, followed by technical interview with the full team of Commissioners; the selected three candidates were interviewed by the Appointments Committee in January and February 2026.
2.5 The preferred candidate will be engaged by means of a service contract at an agreed all-inclusive day rate on the standard terms of the call off agreement under an ESPO framework.
3. Options appraisal and proposal
3.1 Approve the recommendation from the Appointments Committee (recommended option).
The selected candidate has undergone a robust and thorough selection process, and the Appointments Committee’s recommendation is based on careful consideration of the summary of the technical interview, references and the outcome of the interview by the Committee. The preferred candidate is available from 2 March 2026.
This option is recommended as the most effective and immediate means of ensuring leadership stability and continuity of statutory functions.
3.2 Do not approve the recommendation from the Appointments Committee.
Non-approval of the proposed appointment by the Council should only occur in the most exceptional circumstances and must be supported by material and well founded objections.
This option is therefore not recommended.
4. Risk implications
4.1 Securing a replacement Chief Executive would help to maintain organisational stability and deliver statutory responsibilities which will mitigate associated strategic risks, which is particularly important within the context of Local Government Reorganisation. Appointing via an agency enables rapid access to experienced senior leadership capacity.
4.2 Appointment via an agency typically involve higher daily costs than permanent recruitment and may create budget pressures if not managed. This risk can be mitigated by an agreed day rate, clearly defined contract terms (including no entitlement to sick pay, holiday pay, pension contributions, employers NI or other on-costs) and a pre-defined assignment duration.
4.3 A designated Chief Executive reduces risk to service delivery and operations through focussed oversight of key programmes, performance management and organisational leadership.
4.4 Failure to follow applicable procurement regulations when engaging agency staff can expose the Council to challenge. Use of an approved framework or other compliant procurement route mitigates this risk.
5. Financial implications
5.1 The existing budget for the role of Chief Executive and Head of Paid Service will be utilised for this appointment:
5.2 The estimated cost of the interim Chief Executive is £19,800 in 2025/26 + agency fees of £3,762.
5.3 In 2026/27 the estimated costs are £198,000 + agency fees of £37,620.
5.4 The agency fees are fixed by an ESPO framework that can’t be negotiated
5.5 The budget for the Chief Executive in 2026/27 is £210,100 which includes salary, direct employee on-costs and a car allowance. The fees of the new Chief Executive are within the budget, but agency fees will cause an overspend of £25,520. All costs above the budget will be covered from the central contingency.
5.6 There are some residual costs associated with previous Chief Executive and the costs of acting up that will be covered by the central contingency.
6. Legal comments
6.1 Under section 4 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 the Council has a statutory duty to appoint a Head of Paid Service. This role is fulfilled by the Chief Executive.
6.2 The proposals in this report seek to ensure that the Council complies with that duty.
6.3 The Council’s constitution provides that the appointment of the Chief Executive Officer and Head of Paid Service is a function of the Council (Article 4 paragraph 4.2(q) and (r) of the Constitution). The Appointments Committee is responsible for making recommendation to Council on the appointment of the Chief Executive and Head of Paid Service (Part 3 section (b) of the Constitution).
Corporate implications
7. S151 Officer comments
7.1 The S151 Officer confirms that all financial implications have been taken into account.
8. Monitoring Officer comments
8.1 The Monitoring Officer confirms that the relevant legal implications have been taken into account.
9. Procurement comments
9.1 The proposed service contract will be awarded by direct award from ESPO framework and will comply with the framework conditions and the Council’s Contract Standing Orders.
10. Equality and Diversity
10.1 There are no direct equalities or diversity implications arising from the appointment of the Interim Chief Executive. The process has been conducted in line with Public Sector Equality Duty.
11. Sustainability/Climate Change Implications
11.1 There are no implications arising directly from this report.
12. Other considerations
12.1 There are no employment implications as the proposed appointment is on the basis of a service contract.
12.2 The recommendation in this report is made following interviews undertaken by a cross party Appointments Committee which was supported by the Lead Commissioner, HR officers and the Monitoring Officer.
13. Timetable for implementation
13.1 The timetable is set out in the body of the report.
14. Contact
14.1 Linda Heron, Group Head Corporate Governance and Monitoring Officer l.heron@spelthorne.gov.uk.
Please submit any material questions to the Committee Chair and Officer Contact by two days in advance of the meeting.
Background papers: There are none.
Appendices:
Appendix 1 – Details of the preferred candidate