Shadow authorities in Northamptonshire set to appoint interim monitoring officers

The shadow authorities for the two proposed councils in Northamptonshire will this week consider appointing interim monitoring officers at their first meetings.

The appointments will be alongside appointments of interim heads of paid service and chief finance officers.

For West Northamptonshire it is proposed that Susan Zeiss, currently General Counsel at North Northamptonshire, takes up the interim monitoring officer role.

For North Northamptonshire, Bhupinder Gill, head of democratic and legal services at Kettering Borough Council, has been recommended for the post.

The Northamptonshire (Structural Changes) Order 2019 requires the shadow authorities for West Northamptonshire and North Northamptonshire to designate on an interim basis three statutory roles to enable the shadow authorities to operate at an officer level.

The two shadow authorities are due to replace Northamptonshire County Council and seven district and borough councils in April 2021.

North Northamptonshire will cover the existing districts of Kettering, Corby, East Northamptonshire and Wellingborough, while West Northamptonshire will cover the existing districts of Daventry, Northampton and South Northamptonshire.