Council boss set to take over troubled town hall next door

A top town hall boss in Greater Manchester is set to step in and temporarily take over a neighbouring council in the midst of a crisis.

Oldham council's chief executive Harry Catherall is expected to take on the role at Tameside on an interim basis. It comes days after Tameside council's chief executive Sandra Stewart quit amid failures in the local authority's children's services department.

Tameside's children's services received an inadequate rating from Ofsted in February 2024, the second such judgement in five years, resulting in the government ordering a review by the Children's Services commissioner. All three local MPs welcomed Ms Stewart's resignation, saying that the commissioners' report revealed 'unacceptable working practices and conditions for staff at the council'.

READ MORE: A council in crisis as children suffer

In an email to council staff on Tuesday (October 8), Ms Stewart said she was standing down due to 'all the complexities' relating to the children's services department and would instead focus on her role as the Greater Manchester Pension Fund chief executive. Tameside MPs Angela Rayner, Jonathan Reynolds and Andrew Gwynne welcomed her departure calling on the council to now 'move forward'.

The Manchester Evening News understands Oldham council's chief executive is set to be seconded to Tameside on an interim basis while a permanent replacement is recruited. Mr Catherall is likely to split his time between the two councils, the M.E.N. has been told.

Oldham council saw its children's services rated 'good' by Ofsted earlier this year after the watchdog raised 'significant concerns' in 2019. The turnaround has been hailed as a 'huge milestone' for the local authority which had been bordering on