Thanet appoints Baker as Independent Monitoring Officer with original choice unable to take on role

Thanet Council has appointed Quentin Baker, Chief Legal Officer at Hertfordshire County Council, as Independent Monitoring Officer after the local authority’s original selection was unable to take on the role.

Mark Hynes, Director of Law and Governance at the London Borough of Waltham Forest, had agreed to take up the position but was now unable to do so “due to unforeseen circumstances”.

The appointment of an independent monitoring officer was one of four statutory recommendations made by Grant Thornton, Thanet’s external auditors, in a report issued in October 2021 under Section 24 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 that identified "key deficiencies" in governance processes.

Mr Baker, who started in the role on 8 December 2021, is tasked amongst other matters with carrying out a risk assessment of the employment tribunal claims Thanet faces and drawing up an action plan. 

Announcing Mr Baker’s appointment, Thanet said progress against the statutory recommendations would be shared regularly with its General Purposes Committee and Full Council.