by political editor Paul Francis

Kent County Council is paying £165,000 for an interim manager brought in to oversee a shake-up in the way the authority is run, it has emerged.

The county council has revealed that it is paying the six-figure sum to Jeff Hawkins for his temporary role as its transformation project manager, involving wide-ranging changes to the structure of the authority.

The council said it had recruited an outside manager to take on the job after deciding it had no-one with the time or skills to fulfil the role.

The pay package is higher than any of the salaries paid to KCC’s most senior officers, with the exception of managing director Katherine Kerswell.

Mr Hawkins, whose contract began in August, was taken on to steer the authority’s "Change To Keep Succeeding" programme.

That has led to a slimming down in the number of directorates, along with a reduction in senior managers. KCC said those changes had succeeded in saving the council £750,000 in management costs.

In a statement, the council said: "Kent County Council is undergoing the most comprehensive organisational change programme in its history. We view this programme as essential to deliver not only the most difficult budget settlement that this Council has ever faced, but also to make sure we are able to deliver our priorities as set out in our new medium term plan Bold Steps for Kent."

The statement added: "It was important that the right person with the skills and experience needed to deliver this scale of programme was recruited."

It has also emerged that more than £40,000 has been spent on consultants brought in to help staff "develop leadership competencies" and to assist 25 senior managers involved in the new structure.

Consultancy firm Q Learning has been paid £32,657 for this work while £8,000 has been spent appointing the Hay Group to advise on senior pay policy. The details were disclosed to the KM Group in response to a Freedom of Information request.

KCC said: "Once the entire restructure is completed it will lead to savings of approximately £20 million."