THE WIND of change has howled like a gale through Tameside Council after chief executive Steven Pleasant quit after being found to have broken impartiality rules.
And The Correspondent can reveal it was done without an investigation and he will not receive a payout.
Pleasant used the Twitter account associated with his now former position to make a comment about a Conservative voter on BBC’s Question Time on March 25.
He wrote: “She was good. Tory voter with compassion and empathy for others. Who knew!!”
But despite apologising after a complaint from a Tory councillor that evening, which some members of the opposition did not accept and group leader Cllr Doreen Dickinson did so ‘reluctantly’, he was deemed to have twice broken rules.
Firstly, the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, also section two of Local Government Act 1986.
The first legislation states: “The appointee shall not speak to the public at large or to a section of the public with the apparent intention of affecting public support for a political party.”
A Tameside Council report, compiled by borough solicitor Sandra Stewart, added: “A politically restricted officer, such as pre-eminently a statutory officer, must not express themselves publicly in a way that appears to have the intention of affecting public support for a political party.”
The Local Government Act 1986 states: “A local authority shall not publish, or arrange for the publication of, any material which, in whole or in part, appears to be designed to affect public support for a political party.”
Tameside Council’s report continues: “This was aggravated by the proximity of the breach to the elections.”
The Correspondent attempted to seek comment from Mr Pleasant before his decision to step down and sought further clarification from the authority after it.
Our enquiries found there was in fact no investigation, although a document seen by this title has found a QC was involved at some stage, and there will be no payoff.
We asked: “The Correspondent understands a QC was employed to conduct the investigation, was that the case?” The reply was: “There was no investigation.”
And in response to: “As he resigned, will Steven Pleasant receive a payout? If so, how much?” they answered: “No payment has or will be made.”
We also tried to find out whether Mr Pleasant should have carried out his role as returning officer for the recent local elections.
And Tameside Council replied: “The law is very clear on that as set out in the report to council. Only a court can remove a returning officer during an election.”
Now the post-Pleasant era is starting, thoughts turn to who is the next Tameside Council chief executive.
The authority stated both the timescale on appointing one and whether it will be an internal promotion or external appointment was, ‘not determined as yet,’ but hours later, Sandra Stewart was appointed interim for a year on a salary of £184,787.
And questions including: “What does the council think of the way the issue portrays it to the general public, also Conservative councillors and voters?” and “Does the fact the chief executive was found to have breached the regulations reflect badly on the council’s other officers, or at the very least given them extra convincing to do that they are acting in the best interests of the people, rather than the Labour Party?” could not be answered.
Mr Pleasant, who was also accountable officer for Tameside and Glossop Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), announced his departure to Tameside’s councillors on Tuesday, June 7 after almost 34 years of service.
In a message, he said: “With the demise of CCG this month and advent of the new political leadership now feels the right time for me to step down and start a new chapter in my life.
“I have worked for the council for 34 amazing years. It has been a privilege to serve over 13 of them as your chief executive and for six years as the accountable officer for the CCG.
“I can point to the many achievements along the way that led us to be voted nationally as council of year by our peers and the CCG rated as outstanding by the NHS.
“The integration of the council and the CCG was ground-breaking. The development of Tameside One, the bringing back to life of Ashton Old Baths, the building of Tameside Wellness Centre, the completion of the £200million secondary school rebuilding programme and the successful renewal of Hattersley all stand out.
“What makes Tameside special and what has always inspired me are the people who work in our organisation.
“The relentless commitment you show to deliver the best you can for our communities has made me so proud. The myriad of stories I have witnessed over the years that sit behind all that work and the impact it has had on people’s lives are the memories I will treasure more than any other.”
Cllr Dickinson insisted the whole Conservative group did not accept the apology and subsequent actions made her wonder how sincere it was.
Colleague Liam Billington questioned the report’s accountability, saying it was a shame Mr Pleasant resigned before facing the council and that a technicality brought his resignation, not the authority’s record under him in certain services.
He described the tweet as ‘an insult to the 36 per cent of people who voted Conservative in the local elections.’
And he called on the QC’s review – and its cost – to be made public, as well as the ability for the leader to be able to sack the chief executive.
Mr Pleasant’s departure quickly followed Cllr Ged Cooney’s appointment as leader of the council.
And he insisted: “The borough solicitor took advice, not about how we can get around things. At no time whatsoever have I asked the chief executive to leave this council.
“He has not got one penny extra than he should’ve got. There’s been no enhancement, no compromise agreement, nothing.
“Steven himself decided to resign and move on. If someone wishes to leave employment here, there’s nothing I can do.
“The chief executive himself decided to leave. He left off his own bat, that was his decision.”
But he praised what Mr Pleasant had done, adding: “Steven has a long and successful track record in leading our organisation through the most challenging period in its history.
“He led the council’s and local NHS’ response through the last two years of the pandemic. He was awarded an MBE for his work with asylum seekers and refugees.
“I know I speak on behalf of everyone when I wish him the very best in his new endeavours.”