Council's executive director to leave authority

Shropshire Council's executive director and chief financial officer is to leave the authority at the end of January after 26 years.

James Walton became the authority's executive director in 2021, alongside his role as chief financial officer that he took up in 2013.

"After 26 years, this has been a difficult point to arrive at. I want to thank those who have supported me throughout my time here. I leave with deep gratitude for colleagues and genuine pride in what we have achieved together," Walton said.

Council leader, Heather Kidd, thanked him and said she respected and supported his decision to step down. His departure comes as the council is in the midst of a spiralling financial situation.

According to the government's provisional funding settlement, which was published before Christmas, the authority will be £26m worse off over the next three years.

Ministers said its Fairer Funding formula for distributing money to local authorities had prioritised areas with higher deprivation.

But Kidd said it had not properly taken into account rural deprivation and the higher cost of delivering services in sparsely populated counties with older populations.

The authority applied for EFS last month to "financially survive" this financial year, worth up to £71.4m.

The government is expected to make a decision in February.

Without a loan to pay for an unfunded overspend, Shropshire Council will have to effectively declare itself bankrupt.

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