Katherine Kerswell departs Kent County Council: A commentary digest

There has (rightly) been a lot of press coverage of the departure of Kent County Council Managing Director Katherine Kerswell, including a few articles where I seem to have been quoted. Some links include:

• The Telegraph [12 December]: Katherine Kerswell to leave Kent County Council with £450,000 pay-off
• Kent Online [12 December]: Council under pressure over Kerswell departure
• BBC Kent [9 December]; Kent County Council boss leaves with £400,000
• Paul Francis in Kent Online [7 December]: Did KCC's 'urgent' personnel committee to discuss future of its MD comply with the rules?

I should mention that whoever gave the press a figure for the payoff that is reported in the above reports broke Council confidentiality rules. And, for the record, it wasn't me.

I also appeared on BBC Radio Kent on 9 December talking about the manner of Katherine's departure and the proposed move to abandon the post of Managing Director. As I was slightly misquoted later in the programme (when Conservative Leader Paul Carter was interviewed, but on this occasion, not by him!), the transcript of what I actually said is below:

BBC Radio Kent with John Warnett & Clare McDonnell - 9th December 2011

Timeline - 18:50

"Firstly, it is a surprise to me that we learn about Katherine Kerswell's departure in a statement issued to the press as opposed to a statement issued to Councillors I am surprised that the Leader of the Council has worked that way.

Secondly, there has got to be big questions asked as to why the manner of her departure at this stage; the press statement seems to suggest that she is going willingly and I assume therefore no more than standard redundancy pay will be paid."

Timeline - 19:30

"I strongly support Councillors being more involved in the decision making processes but on a day to day basis it is the Chief Executive who runs the show its that person who coordinates between the Directors and makes sure that a £2billion business is run correctly and we are now doing it, we are now doing it seems from a part time Leader that strikes me as a very odd way of running a council."

Timeline - 1:19:00

I - So what is your reaction to this news that she will go?

"It is very much the Kent way isn't it a decision is going to made next week at Kent County Council as to whether to have a Managing Director or not and yet Kent announces just a week before that that the Managing Director has gone what a way to run a council"

I - But you will get a say in whether you agree with this decision?

"We'll get a say in whether we agree with the decision for there to be a managing director or chief executive for the council or not and you have to look at it and think but there must be a reason why almost every council in the country and every business in the country and every organisation in the country has a head why does KCC think it is that special?"

I - Well, Wiltshire Council have already done this and I guess it is an economy drive isn't it, I mean it's a big salary just under £200,000 a year it's a major saving we are talking about at a time when no one really has much cash?

"Wiltshire Council did this literally a few weeks or months ago whether that's been an experiment that's worked yet the jury is still out. We are talking about a £200,000 salary as you say which is a reasonable amount of money; it is a great deal of money but the budget of the County Council is £2billion the potential costs of there not being somebody in overall charge and departments not communicating with each other and people not working together right are massively higher than the cost of having somebody in place who could do that job well."

I - So you think that it could cost the council dear and more than £200,000 a year?

"If it goes wrong then absolutely it could cost much more than that."

I - you stop anyone in the street though and say we still have a leader of the County Council and he is on a good salary we just don't have a managing director anymore and that is going to save the public purse over £200,000 a year and people will say that's a good thing too why should we worry?

"There has always been a difference between there being a political leader who makes political decisions and the administrative leader who coordinates the council departments makes sure that everybody is working on the same page, working for the same things and are working together effectively. Combining those two roles into one when the leader of the council would of told you yesterday that he has plenty to do with his time and suddenly he has got twice as much that doesn't work."

I -you have this meeting next Thursday do you have the power to veto this or is it a done deal?

"The council will be discussing whether to have a managing director or not it's quite possible that the council could decide that it should have a managing director in future but the interesting news would then be that even if we do decide to that Katherine Kerswell would not be it "