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Beleaguered Doncaster MBC lost its managing director last week when he resigned for ‘personal reasons'. Paul Hart, who had been at the authority for six-and-a-half years, tendered his resignation the week before being summoned to Eland House to meet with officials over the council's performance. And it follows the Audit Commission's Comprehensive Area Assessments last month, which named his authority as the worst-performing council in the country. His resignation creates a void which will be difficult to fill, with few in local government willing to take on such a notorious council in the current climate of scrutiny over chief executive salaries. The role of chief executive of the Audit Commission has also been hampered by the Government's capped pay. Rumoured to be £175,000, the post will mean a pay cut for many chief executives, and will put the new chief on a lower salary than many of the directors at the commission. Competition for good candidates could be hit even further as a raft of resignations is expected in the next two months, in the run-up to changes to pension rules. However, Staffordshire CC has appointed Nick Bell as its new chief executive, after a difficult search. The current deputy chief executive and finance director at Essex CC, Mr Bell will replace retiring chief executive, Ron Hilton, in April. He was previously director of finance for Westminster City Council. Staffordshire leader Phillip Atkins said: ‘We had high expectations of the type of person we wanted to replace Ron Hilton. Mr Bell has a vast range of experience, from finance to transforming the way councils do business to service-based experience, all of which makes him ideal to lead Staffordshire.'

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'Worst-performing' council's boss quits

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