OXFORDSHIRE’s biggest local authority is to scrap its top unelected position as part of a radical shake-up to save costs.

Chief executive Joanna Simons, above, revealed she will step down at the end of June after almost a decade at the helm.

But Ms Simons – the highest paid council official in the county – will not be replaced as the authority moves to reorganise its management structure.

The announcement yesterday – branded “extraordinary” by critics – came as a surprise to many councillors and leaders of other councils.

It could potentially save the county council the £217,640 it pays Ms Simons, including salary, pension contributions and bonuses.

Ms Simons is not leaving to join another organisation and will receive an undisclosed pay-off.

A joint message with leader Ian Hudspeth, sent to all Oxfordshire County Council staff yesterday morning, said: “We are writing to let you know about plans to protect frontline services in the light of further likely cuts to local government funding after the General Election in May.

“This requires a new, more networked approach to how we manage the council so as part of this we will be making changes in the summer to our top team.”

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Ms Simons currently manages the council with four directors, but the message said her responsibilities would be “distributed” and there would be closer working between officers and councillors.

Mr Hudspeth confirmed he would assume some of the chief executive’s powers.

He said: “The leader will have to take on some additional responsibilities, because there is a lot the chief executive does.

“This is something I have been considering for a while and it will go forward to be debated by full council as part of budget proposals.”

But concerns were raised by Labour opposition leader Liz Brighouse, who said she was only made aware of the decision yesterday morning.

She said: “I find it difficult to understand how we can manage a complex organisation like the county council and the pressures it is under without a chief executive.

“What also worries me is that this could confuse the role of management with the political role of the leader.”

Oxford City Council leader Bob Price pointed to the financial difficulties the county council faced and said it strengthened the case for the authority to be abolished.

He added: “We are currently reviewing the case for three unitary councils - one for the north of the county, the city and the south of the county - so we can put that forward with the district councils after the election if we need to.”

News of Ms Simons’ departure comes as the authority braces itself for the release of a serious case review of how girls in council care in Oxford were allowed to be groomed and raped for eight years.

In 2013, seven men were sentenced to a total of 95 years in prison for crimes including rape, facilitating child prostitution, and trafficking for sexual exploitation following the police’s Operation Bullfinch.

A report on the scandal is expected by the end of March and is likely to criticise the county council, as well as other public bodies.

Leader Mr Hudspeth has previously warned it could put jobs on the line.

The timing of yesterday’s announcement would raise questions, Oxford East MP Andrew Smith said.

He said: “I am concerned at the decision and how it has been taken, which are both extraordinary.

“Bullfinch is a separate issue and we must see the report before reaching any conclusions, but the public is bound to question whether this coming so close to the publication of the report really is a coincidence.”

The email announcing her departure

Dear Colleague,

We are writing to let you know about plans we are putting in place to protect front line services in the light of further likely cuts to local government funding after the General Election in May. During the life of the next parliament we will need a new way of working, building on the partnerships we have been developing over the last few years.

This means:

  • More joint working in all sorts of ways - in health and social care with the NHS, with schools in our Teaching Schools Alliance, our back office partnership with Hampshire and our new tri-county arrangements for the economy with Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire.
  • Going ‘digital by default’ to make things easier for the public, and streamlining processes through ‘lean’ working as we have been doing in adult social care.
  • Rationalising our office bases with public sector partners, and rolling out agile working across the council.
  • Making the best possible use of our contracts and being more commercial in all we do.

You will also have heard about our ambition to start a debate about how local government should be organised in Oxfordshire to simplify things for the public and save money for essential services. All this requires a new, more networked approach to how we manage the council so as part of this we will be making changes in the summer to our top team. The traditional model of a chief executive and separate directorates needs to be modernised so we will be moving to a more distributed model of leadership with decision making devolved down the organisation and much closer working between officers and councillors.

Joanna will be standing down at the end of June to allow this to happen and we will flatten the structure further to bring everything closer to our residents. We will be working together in the meantime to make sure that we cover all the different responsibilities the chief executive’s role currently covers. This is a new way of working and we are breaking new ground about how public services are run locally but it is the right time for us to make another step change.

More details will follow in coming months but we wanted to let you know early as we are determined to stay ahead of the curve to protect essential services.

We would also like to thank you all again for your hard work and everything you are doing to help us achieve this.

Councillor Ian Hudspeth, leader of the council

Joanna Simons, chief executive

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