Brighton and Hove City Council is set to streamline its most senior officer posts. The move will see the authority's six directors of service roles abolished, the senior staff made redundant, and then asked to re-apply for one of four new ‘strategic director' posts. The council says this restructure will provide a more flexible arrangement which will identify and respond to local needs more quickly. Under the new model, the directors will be responsible for wider strategic targets, and will be able to call on 11 delivery units – services such as housing and adult services. It is hoped this will enable them to operate more innovatively, with greater freedom. Council leader, Mary Mears, said: ‘There are two really great things about our new system. One is that we're putting the needs of our residents right at the very heart of what we are doing – assessing what local people need and ensuring resources can be made available to meet that need. ‘The other is that it will put the best available services from the council's public, private and third sector partners alongside its own resources – cutting down on duplication and making us more efficient.'