The new chief executive of West Sussex County Council will be paid £225,000 a year.
Leigh Whitehouse, whose appointment was confirmed at a meeting of the full council on Friday (22 March), will receive a 19.7 per cent pension contribution – or almost £45,000 a year.
Mr Whitehouse will take over from Becky Shaw once he has served his notice with Surrey County Council – probably in about 12 weeks – and she will return to running East Sussex County Council.
Ms Shaw has been chief executive of both East and West Sussex councils since January 2020, with the accounts for 2022-23 showing that West Sussex made payments of £163,681 to East Sussex for her services.
Asked why it had opted for a full-time chief executive again, the council said: “The partnership (with East Sussex) has enabled both councils to thrive in delivering important services for residents, businesses and communities.
“Both counties … are now well run with strong, stable and transparent governance, management and business planning and ambitions to meet the priorities of the people they serve.
“Given the importance of strengthening and deepening local relationships and the range of opportunities and significant challenges facing both councils, the councils have decided now is the right time to increase the senior officer capacity in both councils through the appointment of a full-time chief executive in West Sussex and Becky Shaw returning to East Sussex full time.”
There are no plans to reintroduce the post of assistant chief executive, which has been vacant since December 2022.
It was put in place as part of the partnership arrangements with East Sussex.
Council leader Paul Marshall said: “I am extremely pleased that Leigh is joining us to build on the excellent work of our current chief executive Becky Shaw.
“Leigh will be joining us at a time of continued investment and strengthening of the key services that support our residents, communities, and businesses.
“He is joining a strong team that will help support him as he helps us build on our strong foundations for the future.
“I want to take this opportunity to thank Becky for all she has achieved in her time with us and it is greatly appreciated that our strong partnership with East Sussex will continue as Becky moves back to being the full-time chief executive there.”
Mr Whitehouse has more than 25 years’ experience in local government and is currently serving as interim chief executive at Surrey County Council.
He said: “It is a real privilege to have been appointed as the chief executive at West Sussex County Council and I know I am joining the county at a time of sustained improvement.
“While our sector is facing huge pressure with continued uncertainty and growing demand for our services, the council is well placed to meet these with confidence.
“I wanted to express my gratitude for the warm welcome I’ve already received from colleagues I encountered during the recruitment process.
“I’m particularly thankful for Becky’s support and I’m looking forward to being able to work with the council’s leadership team to build on the foundations she has put in place.
