Chief executive's union ALACE has agreed to let Section 151 and monitoring officers join. Previously, the union only represented chief executives and directors. However, many Section 151 officers and monitoring officers are no longer in the top team, as councils have tried to slim down their senior management in a bid to cut costs. ALACE honorary secretary, Mary Orton, told The MJ: ‘It's really important they have the same employment protection as the directors and chief executives.' These posts also had to deliver tough messages to elected members, she said, and were also at risk of running into difficulties. She denied the new membership could lead to a conflict of interests, representing the new members against chief executives. ‘It does happen from time-to-time, but they have separate advisers and we keep negotiations entirely separate.'
