The current Chief Executive of Staffordshire Moorlands District Council and High Peak Borough Council is Simon Baker.
Simon was appointed as the Chief Executive of Staffordshire Moorlands DC in April 2001, and was appointed to his joint role across the two councils by both Staffordshire Moorlands DC and High Peak BC in May 2008.
As with most other organisations in the private sector and elsewhere, the Chief Executive is the most senior officer in both Councils, and takes ultimate responsibility for the work of around 350 full-time paid staff at Staffordshire Moorlands DC and around 325 staff at High Peak BC. You may also see the Chief Executive post referred to as the 'Head of Paid Service' which recognises this role of heading up the staff at each council.
The role of Chief Executive is a full-time appointment, and Simon - in keeping with his joint post - does divide his time equally between Staffordshire Moorlands and High Peak.
Any appointment made by any local authority - and Staffordshire Moorlands and High Peak are no exceptions - is made on merit, and is subject to a set of objective criteria.
The Chief Executive post, when appointed, is also subject to approval by all Councillors.
By law, senior Council staff are not allowed to participate in any party political activity and are expected to provide advice, guidance and assistance to all councillors irrespective of their party political affiliation.
As Chief Executive, Simon Baker works with Councillors on a wide range of areas and seeks to implement the policies and projects Councillors agree to, in conjunction with other officers within the organisation as well as outside the councils.
These areas of work can be categorised under a series of headings, including: -
Leadership - works with Councillors to ensure that the Councils are well led, and that staff and other Councillors are encouraged and assisted so that they can do the best job possible
Direction - making sure that staff have a clear idea of what they are doing and why they are doing it, and making sure they understand what Councillors want them to do, as well as making sure they do it;
Advice - providing advice and assistance to all Councillors, in order to ensure that the political aims of the Councillors are put into action through the use of clear and understandable plans and strategies;
Partnerships - effective local government is all about joining up, where necessary and appropriate - with other organisations (e.g. the Police and the NHS) to make sure that the objectives of the Councillors are achieved and put into action;
Management - dealing with staff issues, ensuring that spending is kept within budget, monitoring levels of performance of staff, and making changes where necessary so the council delivers its services and functions to the very best of its ability
The Job Description for the Chief Executive post outlines a number of key responsibilities: -
Both Staffordshire Moorlands DC and High Peak BC are large organisations in the public sector. Both are also major employers in each council area.
Both councils deliver a range of different services, and work with Staffordshire and Derbyshire County Councils in the delivery of other services, including the development of 'One Stop Shops' which allow people to access council services in one visit, rather than having to contact more than one Council when they have an issue which needs resolving.
The services provided locally are split between the County Councils and District/Borough Councils, as set out in the Local Government Act 1972. These areas of responsibility have been amended since 1972, to reflect how things have changed since then.
Services provided by District/Borough Councils include the following:
In addition to these service areas which the Councils have direct responsibility for, both Staffordshire Moorlands and High Peak Councils have a role of bringing other organisations together to produce positive outcomes for each community, such as working with the NHS in terms of tackling health issues and inequalities in health.
In total, each council delivers or commissions over 60 different services, and each council has a gross annual turnover of £36m (in the case of SMDC) and £78m (in the case of HPBC). In addition to this revenue each Council also has funds available for capital schemes (which includes spending on things like property or machinery, but not on day-to-day things like salaries) to the tune of £15m (SMDC) and £52m (HPBC) - both figures represent a three-year capital programme.
Since Simon Baker became Chief Executive of both Councils in May 2008
Under Simon's predecessor, High Peak BC also achieved 'excellent' status under CPA, and was also awarded the Council of the Year prize by the Local Government Chronicle in 2007. During his time as Chief Executive of the two Councils, both Staffordshire Moorlands DC and High Peak BC have both achieved a number of awards including Investors in People, Beacon Awards, Charter Marks and have received very positive comments as a result of various inspections.
The Chief Executive is paid on a scale that starts at £142,002 and ends at £154,002. At present, Simon Baker's salary is £151,628. This figure is paid for equally by each Council, making up £75,814 each of the total salary.
In common with all other managerial posts at each Council, the Chief Executive is subject to an annual appraisal (overseen by elected Councillors), and progression on the salary scale mentioned only happens if satisfactory progress is evidenced and achieved. A performance-related bonus is also payable, up to a maximum of 15% of the Chief Executive's annual salary, following annual appraisal.
In addition to his major role as Chief Executive, Simon also has additional responsibilities, including acting, in a personal capacity, as the Returning Officer for local, Parliamentary and European elections. Payments for this role are dependent on the number of elections taking place.
For the financial year 2009/10, members again awarded the Chief Executive a performance-related bonus of 10.5%.
For the financial year 2010/11, the Chief Executive has agreed to freeze his salary level and any performance-related bonus, in the light of the financial pressures on councils.
In addition to his salary, Simon Baker recieves other benefits, including:
The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) is a contributory scheme; this means that the employee contributes to the scheme from his or her own salary. Employees generally contribute between 5.5% and 7.5% of their salaries to the scheme. Employers' contributions to the LGPS vary depending upon how much is needed to ensure benefits under the scheme are properly funded, and are set independently. The rules governing the pension scheme are established by Parliamentary regulations.
The Chief Executive of High Peak BC and Staffordshire Moorlands DC pays 7.5% of his salary into the LGPS.
In Simon's case, each council makes an employers's contribution of 7.5% into the scheme.
The Chief Executive is able to reclaim a restricted range of legitimate and evidenced business expenses, including busines travel.
The Chief Executive is expected to work such hours as are necessary to ensure the job gets done. This rountinely involves 3-4 evenings per week as well as the standard Monday to Friday business week.
Occasional weekend working is requried, including attending Staffordshire Moorlands DC Council meetings, which are held six times a year on Saturday mornings.
The Chief Executive is 'on call' at all other times, particulary to cover emergencies. No extra payments are made for such extended hours.
The Chief Executive is entitled to 33 days' paid leave per year.