Existing senior staff at City Hall are being invited to apply for the post of Head of Paid Service which has become vacant after a review found the post of Greater London Authority Chief Executive was no longer needed.
Last month it emerged incumbent Chief Executive Leo Boland had asked the Mayor to review the need for the £205,615 a year post following Government plans “to pass greater executive powers over public services to elected mayors.”
A review carried out by TfL General Counsel Howard Carter has concluded the statutory functions of the post – that of Head of Paid Service and Greater London Returning Officer – could be carried out “by other suitably qualified officers.”
At this morning’s meeting of the London Assembly members agreed to delete the post.
In an email to all City Hall staff, Mayor of London Boris Johnson said “expressions of interest in the role from amongst the existing Executive Directors” were now being sought and that a member of the senior management team would also be appointed to act as Greater London Returning officer.
The Mayor’s email confirmed that Martin Clarke, Executive Director of Resources, would act as Head of Paid Service and Mark Roberts, Executive Director of Secretariat, as Greater London Returning officer until the posts were filled.
Full text of email:
“Dear All
Following the independent review carried out into the post of Chief Executive, I wanted to write to you to set out the decision I have taken jointly with the Assembly to delete the post, and to explain the next steps.
The role of appointing and overseeing staffing is an important one. However we do not believe, as Leo himself agrees, that it requires a post at the level of Chief Executive to carry it out. We need to ensure that we put every penny we can into making this great city even greater, and that means taking decisive action where we can to reduce unnecessary costs.
Leo has spearheaded the GLA’s drive to become more streamlined and efficient, achieving significant organisational and cultural change and savings of over £4.5m a year. I would like to thank Leo for his achievements at the GLA and his dedicated public service to London over the past 36 years, and I hope you will all join me in wishing him every success for the future.
The GLA will continue to need a statutory Head of Paid Service. We have therefore sought expressions of interest in the role from amongst the existing Executive Directors. Over the next few weeks we will conduct the appointments process for the role – a decision which will be made jointly with the Assembly. In the meantime Executive Director of Resources, Martin Clarke, has agreed to carry out the role on an interim basis. There will also be an appointment process for the post of the Greater London Returning officer from amongst the Senior Management Team. In the interim Mark Roberts, Executive Director of Secretariat will take on the role.
We will of course keep you informed when decisions are made. Thank you for all you continue to do in the service of London.
Boris Johnson
Mayor of London”
