Another swathe of staff have quit Stoke-on-Trent City Council to join the new unitary Cheshire West and Chester Council. Alan Slater will be new head of strategic planning, Euan Murdoch-Hollies is the new head of human resources, and Helen Bailey will be head of regulatory services. But Stoke-on-Trent City Council's interim chief executive, Chris Harman, was philosophical. He said: ‘It is a testament to the quality of people here that our staff have been approached. ‘We do have quality in strength and depth at all levels in Stoke-on-Trent, and we are already recruiting energetic and first-rate people to drive council services forward.'