CHIEF executive of Oxfordshire County Council Joanna Simons is to stand down in September, it was announced today.

According to a statement from  council leader Ian Hudspeth the move will allow the council to conduct a review of senior management arrangements.

The aim is to reduce costs in the light of further funding cuts announced by the Government, Mr Husdpeth said.

The authority has not yet said if Ms Simons will recieve a pay-out or how much it could be if so.

It was announced in January that the council would scrap its top unelected position as part of a radical shake-up to save costs, and it was expected that Ms Simons would step down in June.

But the following month there was a U-turn on the decision to make the position redundant, which would have granted Ms Simons a redundancy package of almost £600,000.

Mr Hudspeth admitted that after seeking further legal advice the position was under review.

Today he has announced that Ms Simons will go in September.

He added in the statement: "Earlier this year the council had a series of robust debates about whether to remove the post but concluded that a permanent change required further consideration.

"Following further cross-party discussion, it has been decided to put an interim arrangement in place pending a senior management review.

"The council has reached an amicable agreement with Joanna to step down so this can take place.

"The post of chief executive will not be deleted in the first instance to enable the council to consider the best management arrangements for the future, without ruling out any future options."