Recruitment for a £135,000-a-year role overseeing Staffordshire’s historic council shake-up has been halted after the Government ordered a pause in reorganisation work.
Staffordshire County Council confirmed it will not continue the search for a Programme Director for Local Government Reorganisation (LGR), just weeks after Daily Focus highlighted the vacancy.
The successful candidate would have helped steer the creation of two new unitary councils, bringing together 11,000 employees and overseeing the transition of £1.5 billion of public services from 10 existing authorities.
But the recruitment process has now become a direct casualty of the Government’s decision to review the reorganisation programme.
Asked whether recruitment would continue, a county council spokesperson said: “No, we won’t be continuing with the recruitment process as the Government have been clear that all work to prepare for LGR should stop.”
The post, offering a salary of up to £135,000, had been advertised to lead a complex transformation intended to have the two new councils operating by 1 April 2028.
It required a candidate capable of managing the transfer of staff, assets, contracts and technology while maintaining services and securing agreement between council leaders.
The halt comes amid an angry response from County Council Leader Councillor Martin Murray, who accused ministers of wasting councils’ time and undermining confidence.
He said: “This is an eleventh-hour decision from Government, made with little warning and even less detail.
“Councils across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent have worked flat out to meet Government’s timetable, following their rules. To pause now wastes time, drains capacity and undermines confidence.
“The timetable is broken. Government must stop wasting our time and energy, give councils straight answers and put devolution first.
“Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent need a strategic authority, a stronger voice and the power to make decisions locally. We will keep pressing for that.”
In a letter to council leaders dated 7 September, Local Government Minister Jim McMahon said the Government had listened to concerns about the approach, scale and pace of reorganisation.
He asked councils and their partners to cease implementing decisions announced in July while a review takes place, saying this would reduce the risk of work being wasted if the Government changed course.
The review also means local elections scheduled for May 2027 will go ahead using existing council boundaries, rather than being replaced by elections to new authorities.
