Cllr Davies said he took a slightly different view, but would not push it to a vote. He said if they involving recruitment people that they would have a wide knowledge of the pool of talent. In addition they would have a knowledge of contracts in the private sector and local government.

He said they would benefit from consulting a chief executive or retired chief executive. He said it was the most important appointment that will be made and it is worth the investment. He said it should be based on consensus and this was also essential to go down this route. In an ideal world they would find a breadth of expertise and knowledge that a recruitment consultancy form could bring to the table which would lead to a better appointment.

Cllr McLaughlin asked as a point of info that there didn’t sem much difference in cost between the two forms of advertising and using an external adviser.

An officer answered for clarity that the amount was only for the online section of The Times. A search consultant would be over and above the costs in the report. The cost depended on the advice. Maybe a local Chief Executive could be used. It would depend on availability and choice.