Breaking: Highland Council chief executive Donna Manson is set to leave the local authority
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Highland Council’s chief executive Donna Manson is expected to leave her £159,499 a year role.
According to sources, an official announcement is expected later today revealing she will take over at Devon County Council – a job paying £200,000 a year.
Mrs Manson joined the council in September 2018 and since then has steered the council through a number of unprecedented events in one of the most high profile roles in the north.
The most tumultuous period was the Covid pandemic but she also had to oversee the response from the local authority to the death of the Queen.
That entailed handling and running services during the official mourning period for Her Majesty.
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Until the present financial crisis, the local authority was also on its way to greater stability thanks in part to Mrs Manson's efforts.
However, there were also touch points of controversy centred mostly on education and stand-offs with elected members.
Reforms of additional support needs in schools triggered protests at the council HQ in Inverness, something Mrs Manson addressed head on by meeting the demonstrators.
Changes to staff structure attracted the satirical gaze of Private Eye's Rotten Boroughs column, prompting a stiff response from the local authority.
News that Highland P1, P4 and P7 were ranked the worst in Scotland for literacy and numeracy was labelled a "failure" though the figures appear to have improved of late.
Perhaps most seriously of all, there were significant allegations that officials undertook a "co-ordinated" effort to undermine elected councillors.
More to follow...
