Role of the officers

Find out about the Section 151 Officer, the Monitoring Officer and the Head of Paid Service.

What are these officers?

The Head of Paid Service, the Monitoring Officer and the Section 151 Officer, are three posts that the council is required by law to make. They have specific statutory responsibilities and are subject to special statutory rules as to their appointment and dismissal.

What are their responsibilities?

The responsibilities of the three posts are set out in Article 11 - Officers of the council's Constitution. In summary, the Head of the Paid Services is responsible to the council for carrying out the council's work. The Monitoring Officer is responsible to the council for the lawfulness and fairness of the council's decision-making and the Section 151 officer is responsible to the council for the proper conduct of its financial affairs.

Who are these officers?

  • Head of the Paid Service - Martin Reeves Chief Executive
  • Monitoring Officer - Anita Bradley, Director of Law and Governance
  • Section 151 Officer - Lorna Baxter, Director of Finance.

Chief Internal Auditor

In addition to the three statutory officer posts, there is a requirement for the council to "maintain an adequate and effective system of internal audit of its accounting records and of its system of internal control in accordance with the proper internal audit practices". In meeting these requirements the council has appointed Sarah Cox to the post of Chief Internal Auditor. The responsibilities of the Chief Internal Auditor are contained in the: