Council chief's secondment backed by senior councillors

Adur and Worthing councils chief executive Alex Bailey will spend 18 months at Coastal West Sussex Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), the body responsible for the area’s healthcare services .

The two-day-a-week role was approved by the councils’ joint senior staff committee on Tuesday and must now be ratified by full councils.

Adur District Council leader Neil Parkin said: “For some time the Adur and Worthing partnership has gone from strength to strength but for some time we have been looking at the next big thing.

“We did look long and hard at going to the three council model but you just don’t get the gain with going to three.

“Some time ago we spoke to the chief executive and talked about trying to do something with the health authorities.”

Mr Parkin said the CCG approached him and Worthing leader Dan Humphreys about the secondment and he thought it was the ‘right thing to do’.

“We are serving the same customers,” he said.

Mr Humphreys said the councils and the CCG had shared priorities in relation to the health. He said; “I am really excited by it. I think this is going to be a huge benefit to the people of Worthing and I suspect it is a model other parts of the country will be looking at very soon.”

Mr Bailey’s £117,311-a-year council salary will be reduced to £70,386. The CCG will offer an annual wage of £56,000.

The secondment will be financed by the CCG, while a report to councillors said the councils would save more than £60,000.

The committee meeting was adjourned for 15 minutes as not enough councillors had arrived in time. Opposition councillors Geoff Patmore and James Doyle were absent, while the meeting went ahead with four Conservative cabinet members after the arrival of Adur deputy leader Angus Dunn.