Former medal-winning athlete, Andrew Kerr, tells Heather Jameson about life in the North East, and how he plans to weather the recession
North Tyneside chief executive, Andrew Kerr, is a regular on the local government conference scene – but things are about to change.
He is usually seen speaking to improvement conferences as part of the dynamic duo running Tyneside. The other half of the duo – South Tyneside chief executive, Irene Lucas – is about to head off to Whitehall to take on the role of director general of local government at CLG.
But while the conference routine may have to change, Andrew is staying put for the time being, and he has plenty to offer on his own.
Andrew has been part of the rise of the North East as one of the most successful corners of the country for local government.
The region has spawned a collection of high-profile authorities, with chief executives to match.
‘We are now 12 unitaries, and they are all really good,’ he says. ‘But none of us are huge.’
He suggests that this is because, as they are all performing well, there is a ‘high level of trust’ and co-operation between the councils. They meet regularly, so they understand the issues each is facing.
Despite being so associated with the area, Andrew is – as the name suggests – a Scotsman. He also adds that he is a honorary Welshman too, after spending several years living and working in Wales.
Andrew trained as a teacher, but never actually made it into the classroom. A sportsman at heart – he ran the 400 metres at the Commonwealth Games, and won a bronze medal at the European Championships – his plan was to teach physical education and history.
Instead, he got a job managing an athletics stadium in Falkirk, and began to work his way up through leisure services. He became leisure services manager before moving to Cardiff City Council, just as it was bidding for the Commonwealth games.
By 1996 he was in Caerphilly as head of life-long learning and leisure.
He describes the leisure route as ‘quite a good background’ for being a chief executive, despite the fact that it’s not the most recognised career path.
‘You are in direct contact with the customer early on,’ he says – a sure way of learning to understand what people want.
Andrew is keen to make sure all his staff understand the issues, and all senior managers at the council – including Andrew – are contracted to do 12 days a year working for the voluntary sector. It is a sure way of keeping managers grounded in the issues facing their communities.
In 2000, Andrew joined theAudit Commission as head of best value in Wales, and two years later, became director of leisure and culture, then director of improvement at Birmingham City Council. In 2005, he joined North Tyneside.
With the recession at the top of the agenda for the whole of local government, he is no different. ‘North Tyneside is ‘slightly better off than the rest of the North East’, he says, but he is busy making the council as water-tight as possible.
There have already been £55m in savings, and there is a further £100m planned over the next five years. The council also has ‘record levels of reserves’ at its disposal for the tough times ahead. ‘We are in a good financial position,’ he says.
The council always has plans to recycle its cash, and money was ploughed into its weaker adult social care services. Now that has improved, cash is being taken out and redeployed elsewhere.
One of the major issues for Andrew is the lack of life chances for some of his citizens. ‘If you live on the coast [in North Tyneside], you live 10 years longer than you do if you live three miles inland.’
He puts this down to ‘aspirational issues’, and ‘generations of poor living conditions’. The council is trying to address the problem, ploughing money into its poorest areas and setting up a ‘learning village’.
The key is, he says, trying to do both physical and economic regeneration together, and trying to give people access to education and routes to employment.
So, will he be following Irene on the career path any time soon, leaving the conference circuit totally bereft of the Tyneside duo? ‘I went into public services because I wanted to make a difference to the place I live,’ he says. ‘And I’m going to stick around until I deliver.’
He is usually seen speaking to improvement conferences as part of the dynamic duo running Tyneside. The other half of the duo – South Tyneside chief executive, Irene Lucas – is about to head off to Whitehall to take on the role of director general of local government at CLG.
But while the conference routine may have to change, Andrew is staying put for the time being, and he has plenty to offer on his own.
Andrew has been part of the rise of the North East as one of the most successful corners of the country for local government.
The region has spawned a collection of high-profile authorities, with chief executives to match.
‘We are now 12 unitaries, and they are all really good,’ he says. ‘But none of us are huge.’
He suggests that this is because, as they are all performing well, there is a ‘high level of trust’ and co-operation between the councils. They meet regularly, so they understand the issues each is facing.
Despite being so associated with the area, Andrew is – as the name suggests – a Scotsman. He also adds that he is a honorary Welshman too, after spending several years living and working in Wales.
Andrew trained as a teacher, but never actually made it into the classroom. A sportsman at heart – he ran the 400 metres at the Commonwealth Games, and won a bronze medal at the European Championships – his plan was to teach physical education and history.
Instead, he got a job managing an athletics stadium in Falkirk, and began to work his way up through leisure services. He became leisure services manager before moving to Cardiff City Council, just as it was bidding for the Commonwealth games.
By 1996 he was in Caerphilly as head of life-long learning and leisure.
He describes the leisure route as ‘quite a good background’ for being a chief executive, despite the fact that it’s not the most recognised career path.
‘You are in direct contact with the customer early on,’ he says – a sure way of learning to understand what people want.
Andrew is keen to make sure all his staff understand the issues, and all senior managers at the council – including Andrew – are contracted to do 12 days a year working for the voluntary sector. It is a sure way of keeping managers grounded in the issues facing their communities.
In 2000, Andrew joined theAudit Commission as head of best value in Wales, and two years later, became director of leisure and culture, then director of improvement at Birmingham City Council. In 2005, he joined North Tyneside.
With the recession at the top of the agenda for the whole of local government, he is no different. ‘North Tyneside is ‘slightly better off than the rest of the North East’, he says, but he is busy making the council as water-tight as possible.
There have already been £55m in savings, and there is a further £100m planned over the next five years. The council also has ‘record levels of reserves’ at its disposal for the tough times ahead. ‘We are in a good financial position,’ he says.
The council always has plans to recycle its cash, and money was ploughed into its weaker adult social care services. Now that has improved, cash is being taken out and redeployed elsewhere.
One of the major issues for Andrew is the lack of life chances for some of his citizens. ‘If you live on the coast [in North Tyneside], you live 10 years longer than you do if you live three miles inland.’
He puts this down to ‘aspirational issues’, and ‘generations of poor living conditions’. The council is trying to address the problem, ploughing money into its poorest areas and setting up a ‘learning village’.
The key is, he says, trying to do both physical and economic regeneration together, and trying to give people access to education and routes to employment.
So, will he be following Irene on the career path any time soon, leaving the conference circuit totally bereft of the Tyneside duo? ‘I went into public services because I wanted to make a difference to the place I live,’ he says. ‘And I’m going to stick around until I deliver.’
