The Employment Committee of Lancashire County Council met on Wednesday, 15th April, 2026, and approved the extension of the secondment of the Chief Executive and Head of Paid Service to the Lancashire Combined County Authority. The meeting also confirmed the minutes from previous meetings held in January and February 2026.

Extension of Chief Executive's Secondment Approved

The committee approved the extension of the secondment of the county council's Chief Executive and Head of Paid Service, Mark Winn, to the Lancashire Combined County Authority (LCCA) for a further 12-month period, from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. Mr. Winn will continue to serve as the LCCA's Chief Finance Officer (Section 73 Officer). This arrangement is in place because the LCCA, established in February 2025, is still in its early operational years and relies on senior officers from constituent councils to fulfil statutory duties.

Councillor Ged Mirfin, Cabinet Member for Resources, HR and Property, expressed concerns about the potential impact of this extended secondment on Mr. Winn's workload, particularly in light of the rapidly changing agenda due to Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). He stated, My only concern was the amount of time that Mark might have to dedicate to this and the fact that we are dealing with an agenda which is rapidly changing in light of LGR. Councillor Mirfin also mentioned his dissatisfaction with recent appointments within the combined authority.

In response, Jacquie McGeachie, Interim Director: People Services, explained that a meeting with the Minister was scheduled to discuss capacity funding for the LCCA, with an indicative figure of around £2 million. She noted that if this funding is secured, the arrangement could be reviewed. She also highlighted that the LCCA currently has limited administrative funds.

Councillor Azhar Ali OBE acknowledged Councillor Mirfin's concerns but emphasised the need for partners to collaborate during the infancy of new structures like the LCCA. He added, I think we are also lucky that we now do have a senior management team. All the senior vacancies are full. We've got all the exec directors and it's quite a strong executive team. I'm sure that they will manage the workload and we can review it in three months' time or six months' time.

The decision to extend the secondment was carried, with the understanding that it would be reviewed in three to six months' time. This arrangement is considered a sensible and historically consistent approach to supporting the LCCA's governance and financial planning while it works towards recruiting its own permanent statutory officers. The report detailing this proposal can be found in the Public reports pack 15th-Apr-2026 14.45 Employment Committee.pdf.

Confirmation of Previous Minutes

The committee confirmed the minutes of the previous meetings held on 27 January 2026, 10 February 2026, and 16 February 2026. These minutes were approved by a vote.

Next Meeting

The date of the next meeting was noted as Tuesday, 16 June 2026, at 1pm.

The meeting then moved into Part II, which was not open to the press and public.