A SHAKE-UP at the top of Wiltshire Council is on the way, after council leader Baroness Jane Scott announced that the authority plans to appoint two new corporate directors - who could be earning salaries of up to £144,999.

The move means the council will have four corporate directors, instead of having three officers at that rank.

The new officers will hold jobs covering the four priority areas set out in the council's new draft business plan, unveiled at a cabinet meeting today - with a nine-day consultation period.

They will be responsible for:

l Children and Education, with the postholder being the statutory Director of Children’s Services

l Adult social care and health and chief accountable officer for the Clinical Commissioning Group. This new role will be the joint statutory Director of Adult Social Services), and the job will be jointly funded by the council and the NHS Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group

l Growth, Investment and Place - a new role

l Communities, Resources and Transformation. This postholder will be the Returning Officer and Electoral Registration Officer

Carolyn Godfrey is the statutory officer for Children's Services and the acting head of Adult Social Services but is to retire in October and Dr Carlton Brand is in charge of Electoral Registration and is the council's Senior Information Risk Owner. They have been sharing the job as Head of Paid Service.

The third corporate director post has been vacant since last September, when the council announced that Maggie Rae had left the authority after a three-month absence, after apparently being signed off work with stress-related issues.

Mrs Rae was responsible for services delivering adult social care and public health together with responsibility for housing, communities and public protection.

She was also the director of Wiltshire Public Health and worked with GPs on public health issues.

Baroness Scott said today: “At the meeting of cabinet we discussed the council’s new draft business plan, which outlines an ambitious programme of work for the next 10 years. Our vision continues to create strong communities and we will prioritise growing the economy, protecting those who are most vulnerable, and working in partnership in an innovative and effective way.

“In order to deliver an ambitious plan reflecting what Wiltshire deserves, we need the right organisational structure and strategic management.

“The proposed new structure will see the number of corporate directors increased from three to four, with one of these posts as the corporate director for adult social care and health and chief accountable officer for the Clinical Commissioning Group. "We recognise that the integration of health and social care is the only option if we are to manage the demand for these services in the coming years. The NHS Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group has agreed that to jointly fund the accountable officer post, which is the most senior post in the CCG, and to combine this with the council’s corporate director for adult social care. This new post will provide the best opportunity to lead and deliver the integration of health and social care across the county.

“The proposed management model was approved at cabinet today and is now out for consultation until June 29. It will also be considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee tomorrow (June 21), and all the consultation feedback will be reviewed and taken into account, as appropriate.

"I am of the view that this proposed new structure will enable us to deliver the draft business plan, our priorities and to manage the challenges ahead to ensure that we make Wiltshire an even better place to live, work in and visit.”