Newham LBC has appointed the current Isle of Wight chief executive, Joe Duckworth, to its top job – after just two years in his current post.
The £200,000 post has been dogged by controversy since the council hired from the private sector last year, only for that appointment to fall through.
The search had to start again from scratch after the council failed to reach agreement with its chosen candidate, Roger Tucker.
The job offer to Mr Tucker, of African Arabian Petroleum, was finally withdrawn after several months of negotiations (see The MJ, 31 October 2007).
Mr Duckworth pledged to put the Olympic borough of Newham ‘firmly on the London and national map’. He also promised to deliver excellent services for the community and ‘make sure local people get the most out of the 2012 games’.
Mayor of Newham, Sir Robin Wales, said he looked forward to working with the new chief executive ‘to drive up performance in frontline services’.
Mr Duckworth headed for the Isle of Wight from his post as deputy chief executive of Westminster City Council in June 2006.
He previously worked as a director for Hackney LBC, Surrey CC and York City Council.
His appointment to the island came with a £150,000 salary and made him the highest-paid public sector official ever to work there. His pay packet subsequently blew the council’s payroll system which had never previously handled six figures.
The past year has also seen difficulties for Mr Duckworth and the management team on the Isle of Wight. He kicked-off an investigation into a controversial road maintenance contract at the council – which was awarded before he took up his post. Several officers, including deputy chief executive, John Lawson, resigned over the saga, and two others were dismissed.
The £13m contract, awarded to engineering consultant High Point Rendel to repair a road damaged in a landslide, was found to have several ‘breaches in procurement rules’, according to a report in 2005.
The Newham post is likely to carry with it a knighthood, if the Olympics in 2012 go according to plan, as it is the usual custom for chief executives presiding over major international events to receive an award, as happened to Birmingham’s Sir Michael Lyons (the G8 conference), and Manchester’s Sir Howard Bernstein (Commonwealth Games).
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