Lewisham chief executive, Barry Quirk, is stepping down as the Government's ‘efficiency champion', after almost five years. The MJ understands the position will not be replaced, and instead, the CLG will use several chief executives to fill the role in the future. Appointed by deputy prime minister, John Prescott, in July 2005, Mr Quirk took on the role of efficiency ‘champion' at the same time as Norfolk CC chief executive, Tim Byles, was named as the procurement champion. Since Mr Byles' departure, Mr Quirk has been the sole efficiency champion. Mr Quirk told The MJ he had tried to foster the spirit of an ‘ethic of efficiency' since his appointment. ‘We are spending the public's money, not our money. We are trying to be efficient so that we can do better, not for its own sake.' As the Government moves towards more cost-cutting in coming years, it will switch to a task force made up of ‘a number of senior local government figures' rather than relying too heavily on a single individual.
