New chief executive says cash strapped council can save £1m by restructuring top team

Nicholas Thomas – Local democracy reporter

A new chief executive believes a cash strapped council can save nearly £1 million by restructuring the senior management team.

Richard Edmunds, who was appointed chief executive of Caerphilly County Borough Council in January, said “every part of the organisation is being looked at” in a bid to cut costs and meet “significant savings targets”.

The relatively new role of deputy chief executive will be removed from the payroll when the current post-holder, Dave Street, retires in April.

Caerphilly says it must plug an estimated £45 million budget gap over the next three financial years.

Balance

It has just passed its budget for 2025/26, which included a series of service and job cuts the local authority claimed would help balance the books.

Some of those moves have proved contentious – as have ongoing consultations on a series of proposed library and leisure centre closures, and the hiring of external consultants to help identify unnecessary spending.

Mr Edmunds said it was “important that the senior management team leads by example” when implementing cost-cutting measures.

“We have indicated previously that staffing levels in the organisation will reduce over the coming years and this overall reduction should be reflected within the leadership team,” he explained. “These changes will deliver significant savings with a fit for purpose, yet stable, leadership structure.”

The axing of the deputy chief executive position is central to the new savings at the top of the local authority.

The role was only created in late 2022, and at the time, then-chief executive Christina Harrhy said the move “ensures the council has sufficient capacity at the top of the organisation to deliver positive change”.

Successor

Mr Street, the current deputy, took up the post in May 2023.

He served as the council’s interim chief executive for several months last year, during the search for Ms Harrhy’s successor.

According to the council’s pay policy for the current financial year, the deputy chief executive position had a salary of £145,903.

Caerphilly Council said the plans for restructuring its management could lead to savings “in excess of £881,000”.

Cllr Sean Morgan, who leads the local authority, said: “The implementation of this new structure will help achieve significant savings whilst also sending an important message within the organisation, and to the wider public, that the council is serious about transforming its services and delivering positive change even within its constrained budget.”