Councillors will be updated on Wednesday on action which has been taken towards the appointment of an acting chief executive, following controversy over the departure of Rose Rouse.
Conservative councillors have proposed a vote of no confidence in council leader Virginia Taylor over the issue, after Mrs Rouse left the authority by mutual agreement at the end of August — leaving it with no head of paid service.
The human resources and appeals committee will this week meet to discuss the commissioning of an options paper from the independent advisory group for local authorities, North West Employers, at a cost of £1,700.
It will also receive an update on action taken so far to clarify the council’s position.
Paul Sutton, interim director of corporate services, said in a report to the committee: “It is a statutory responsibility for a local authority to always have a head of paid service in place and the appointment of an acting head of paid service has therefore been identified as a priority, as the council has no deputy head of paid service
“In order to progress this quickly there was an initial discussion with North West Employers in order to understand what the options might be for recruiting a head of paid service and also an exploratory discussion with Carlisle City Council regarding the potential availability of their chief executive to cover the position in the interim.
“It is clear within the council’s constitution that the responsibility for both the recruitment and appointment of a head of paid service, permanent or acting, lies with the HR and appeals committee.”
If approved, the report will go to the committee at its meeting on 22nd September for it to determine the way forward.
The full council meeting, at which the no confidence vote in Ms Taylor will be heard, takes place on 24th September.
