THE FOREST Council has appointed a temporary chief executive at a cost of £1,068 per day.

Mr Andrew Grant will work three days a week in an eight-month contract during which time the council will seek a full-time replacement for its current most senior officer, head of paid service Mr Peter Williams who retires next month.

But the price tag for Mr Grant’s expertise was branded “deeply offensive” by head of the Conservative group Cllr Harry Ives, who was then accused of “opportunism” by leader of the council Cllr Tim Gwilliam.

The temporary appointment was ratified by the full council at its meeting last Thursday (January 2) although there was an attempt to defer the decision until another meeting later this month because of concerns that some councillors had been excluded from the recruitment process.

The council was told Mr Grant was the stand-out candidate in the interview process and that delaying the process risked losing him.

Councillors also heard that the £1,000-a-day cost was the “going rate” for people with Mr Grant’s expertise in a highly competitive market.

Independent Alliance councillor Thom Forester (Mitcheldean, Ruardean and Drybrook) suggested that a lower offer would show “passion” for the area.

The council ratified the appointment of Mr Grant, on the original terms, at its meeting last Thursday (January 2).

Cllr Forester said: “I want someone who is passionate about the area. Perhaps we could offer a reduced rate?”

Mr Grant was chief executive of Aylesbury Vale in Buckinghamshire for 13 years until 2019 and since then Andrew has run his own consultancy with stints as interim chief executive at Cambridge City Council and Castle Point Borough Council in Essex.

In 2015, Aylesbury Vale was named Council of the Year.

But the leader of the Tories on the Forest Council said that while he acknowledged Mr Grant was an outstanding candidate, the cost was “deeply offensive”.

Cllr Harry Ives (Lydney North) said: “I do find the salary for this post of £1,068 a day deeply offensive – deeply offensive.

“It’s insensitive, it’s crass and I guarantee the public will be absolutely appalled when this becomes public knowledge – absolutely appalled.

“Three thousand pounds a week for just three days work, I feel sick even saying that.

“If a person is not willing to do the job for less than £1,000 a day – and I’m talking about any applicant – then I would question whether they are the right type of person for the job.

“I’ll be voting against this paper on the basis of the outrageously high salary which was not approved by the appointments committee.”

Leader of the council Cllr Tim Gwilliam (Progressive Independents, Berry Hill), said the decision to appoint an interim chief executive and the costs were agreed at a meeting of the full council last October.

He said: “I will not accept the opportunism and lecturing from the leader of the Conservative group who has the nerve to try and play up to the public.

“He’s been made aware of everything that has been going on.

“He knows full well because his own party member told him how much it would cost for an interim.

“He had his own party member on the appointments committee but funnily enough chooses tonight in the public domain to claim the Conservatives are on the side of the poor people.

“I think it is absolutely shameful but he also said what a great candidate he (Mr Grant)was.

“He knows he’s a great candidate, he knows how much it was going to cost but he still chooses to make that speech.

“There’s nobody in this room who thinks that £1,000 a day is about right but that’s the going rate.

“It is going to cost you £1,000 a day to have an interim which is what this council chose to do.”

Zoe Campbell, the council’s assistant director for organisational effectiveness, said Mr Grant was not being paid £1,068 a day.

She said: “It does not include a 20 per cent local government pension, it does not include National Insurance and the fees that go to the search firm that are providing the interim solution for us, so this person is not taking home £1,068 a day.”

She also told councillors that if a proposal to defer ratifying the appointment until later this month was accepted there was “a big risk” that Mr Grant would walk away.

She added: “There is the potential you could lose this candidate who is far and away the best candidate. There is a big risk. These are interim individuals and are very sought after “

Cllr Brian Robinson (Independent Group Two, Longhope and Huntley) had suggested the delay because some of the smaller groups had not been included in the appointment process.

Cllr Gwilliam apologised for that but said the decision should be taken at the meeting.

The council wants to appoint a full-time chief executive to take over at the end of the interim contract. The salary will be capped at £110,000 a year.