Two Oldham council directors leave town hall

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Two Oldham council directors are to leave the town hall. Finance boss Sarah Johnston and economics chief Paul Clifford have handed in their notices.

They say they want to be 'closer to home', the Local Democracy Reporting Service understands. Their departures come amid a leadership shake-up in Oldham - and across Greater Manchester authorities. READ NEXT: Manchester has among highest rates of Victorian superbug that killed more people than Covid-19 last year Oldham chief executive Harry Catherall left for crisis-hit Tameside council - which is battling to turn around its failing children's services department - last month.

Shelley Kipling is acting chief executive. Ms Johnston, appointed in August last year, will move to Wigan council at the end of January, when work on next year's budget is finished.

Oldham town hall has to plug a £20m gap in its finances. An email sent out to staff on Friday (December, 6) read: "In Oldham, we’re at a crucial point in our budget preparations.