Home   Grantham   News   Article

Subscribe Now

South Kesteven District Council appoints Angela Wakefield as interim monitoring officer




A new senior officer has been appointed to a key position at South Kesteven District Council.

Councillors voted to appoint Angela Wakefield as interim monitoring officer for six months during an extraordinary full council meeting held on Thursday, June 12, while the search continues for a permanent replacement.

The role is one of three statutory positions at the council, alongside the head of paid service and the Section 151 officer. It involves ensuring the legality and fairness of the council’s decision-making, promoting good governance, and advising elected members and officers.

Angela Wakefield has been appointed the Interim Monitoring Officer for SKDC. Photo: YouTube
Angela Wakefield has been appointed the Interim Monitoring Officer for SKDC. Photo: YouTube

Ms Wakefield has served as strategic director for law and governance at Rutland County Council. Local members praised her “exceptional” CV and said they were confident she was the right person for the role.

Independent leader of the council Ashley Baxter warned that not having someone in the post would put the authority at risk of breaking the law and lacking proper guidance on how to operate within its constitution.

He also said the absence of a monitoring officer would place an unfair burden on other staff. “The purpose of today’s proposal is to stay legal,” he told councillors.

Questions were raised about the legality of the appointment, as it had not first gone through the council’s employment committee.

With this in mind, Coun Matthew Bailey asked whether the council would be in a worse position if the appointment were unlawful rather than having no monitoring officer at all.

However, chief executive Karen Bradford, drawing on advice from Lincolnshire Legal Services, assured members that due to the risk of not having a statutory officer in place, it was reasonable for the decision to go directly to full council.

She later said she was hopeful a full-time appointment could be made “this side of Christmas”.

Democratic services manager and deputy monitoring officer James Welbourn added: “To me, the bigger risk is not having a monitoring officer in post,” describing the situation as “far from ideal.”

Coun Sarah Trotter thanked outgoing monitoring officer Graham Watts, saying he was “always vastly supportive” and describing him as a “thoroughly nice chap”.



Comments | 0
This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies - Learn More