Thursday, 02 September 2010

Probe reveals tensions in ALMO relations

28 March 2008 | Updated: 23 June 2008 10:47 am

The confidentiality of a candidate for the chief executive's position at arm's-length....

The confidentiality of a candidate for the chief executive's position at arm's-length management organisation Rochdale Boroughwide Housing was 'seriously breached' during a round of interviews, an official investigation has found.

The breach was one of a number of failings pinpointed by an Audit Commission investigation into the difficult recruitment process, which has left the top job vacant for almost a year. Rochdale Council and the ALMO failed to agree on how much power the chief executive should have.

'This underpinned the failure to reach agreement because it is clear to us that the tenant and independent members of the [ALMO's] board have unresolved tensions with the council,' the commission's report stated.

'One tension is the extent to which the chief executive of Rochdale Boroughwide Housing will be controlled by the executive leadership team. This is a symptom of a more fundamental tension about the perception of losing independence and autonomy to the council.'

The report concluded that there was no 'genuine cause for significant disagreement at strategic or operational levels between the council and the board' but that more 'effort is needed to build mutual trust and confidence between the tenant and independent members of the board and the council'.

It added: 'Wrongly formed perceptions are more of a problem than any substantive matters.'

The commission found that the recruitment fiasco had 'harmed the standing of the management organisation'.

The council and the ALMO both accepted the findings of the report.

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