The Staffing Committee of Westmorland and Furness Council met on 19 September 2025 to discuss longlisting candidates for the position of Chief Executive, and to review the minutes of their previous meeting. The meeting was held at The MintWorks, a co-working space in Kendal. Councillor Helen Chaffey, Cabinet Member for Communities, Customer Services, Culture and Communications, was scheduled to chair the meeting.

Chief Executive Recruitment

The Staffing Committee was scheduled to consider a report from Luci Robb, Assistant Director HR/OD, regarding the longlisting of candidates for the position of Chief Executive (Head of Paid Service). The previous Chief Executive was due to leave the council on 31 December 2025.

The report noted that the application process for the role closed on 12 September 2025, and the committee was asked to agree on a longlist of candidates to invite to technical assessments. Candidate details were to be shared with the Staffing Committee prior to the meeting.

The report stated that the role had been advertised via the Westmorland and Furness website, in various publications, and through an executive search process conducted by Starfish, a recruitment specialist company.

Following longlisting, candidates would be asked to undertake a technical assessment and a psychometric assessment¹.

The following timeline for the next steps in the process was included in the report:

The report stated that the Staffing Committee is responsible for recommending the appointment and terms and conditions of the Chief Executive to the Full Council, as per the council's constitution.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting

The committee was scheduled to review the minutes of the previous meeting held on 28 July 2025 at Kendal Town Hall.

Items discussed at the previous meeting included:

• Deputy Monitoring Officer: The committee considered a request for an additional £10,000 market supplement to attract suitable candidates for the role of Deputy Monitoring Officer, following an unsuccessful recruitment process earlier in the year. The Assistant Director HR/OD, explained that there was a high national demand for governance lawyers, especially Monitoring Officers/Deputy Monitoring Officers. Councillor Hilary Carrick, Leader of the Conservative Group, raised concerns about setting a precedent for future market supplements. Councillor Linda Jones asked about feedback from previous unsuccessful candidates. Councillor Virginia Taylor referred to legacy council days where candidates with the required experience often wanted to work part-time or reduced hours, and asked if the council would consider this. The committee agreed to the additional market supplement.
• Recruitment and Selection Process for Deputy Chief Officers: The committee considered a report regarding the recruitment and selection process for Deputy Chief Officers, specifically for the Assistant Director of Quality, Resources, Transformation and Integration Adult Social Care (ASC). The committee was asked to approve delegating the approval to the Head of Paid Service, or designated deputy, to progress with recruitment and appointment for all future Deputy Chief Officer roles. Councillor Taylor asked why the process was different for the recruitment of the Head of Paid Service and the rest of the Directors. She felt that for the appointment of all Senior Officers there should be a partner panel and a member panel held with those parties the role would be required to engage with. The Assistant Director confirmed that there was currently no provision for this to happen for Assistant Director roles. The committee agreed to delegate the approval to the Head of Paid Service for recruitment, but requested a more detailed discussion and report on the appointment process at a future meeting.
• Recruitment to the post of Chief Executive (Head of Paid Service): The committee considered a report seeking approval to progress with the recruitment of the Chief Executive (Head of Paid Service). The committee noted that the recommendation to appoint would be required to proceed to Full Council as required by the Constitution. Councillor Taylor asked about the proposals for undertaking a review of the salary. Councillor Carrick asked how the council ensured that the pay policy and pay scales were constantly reviewed. Councillor Taylor asked how members could provide details of possible candidates suitable for the role. The Chair asked whether it would be possible to highlight the excellent story of the Heart of Barrow in the job specification to try to attract candidates. The committee approved the commencement of the recruitment process, agreed to undertake a review of the current salary, and delegated any recommended changes to the current salary to the Chair of Staffing Committee, in consultation with Cabinet Member for Finance, Director of Resources (s151)² and Assistant Director HR/OD.