There’s no mileage in picking on the expenses of interims

Suggestions that interims should come from the local area in order for councils to avoid paying their expenses is short-sighted says Danny Hodgson - Head of Interim Leadership.

Duckhouses, moat repairs and garlic peelers have all brought the issue of spending taxpayers' money on expenses into sharp focus for local authorities and interims have felt the full force of the increased scrutiny.

Freedom of Information requests, local politics and eye-catching local newspaper headlines have created anxiety about expense payments, legitimate or otherwise.

There is no doubt that interims’ expenses must be managed rigorously by local authorities, perhaps a little more than they have in the past. However, knee jerk reactions such as insisting interims come from the local area to avoid the whole conversation about ‘expenses’ can have an equally negative effect, dramatically limiting the pool of talent.

Why bother paying interims’ expenses?

Good interims are often not restricted by geography, which has the huge benefit of providing a much wider pool of talent. If you insist on ‘local’ provision, then your choice can be dangerously narrow. Could you really rely on finding the best available children’s safeguarding expert if you insist that they live locally and are available immediately? Interviewing interims from around the UK enables you to share best practice with other areas.

Interims with no connection to your region can bring objectivity and independence, which is critical to undertaking sensitive tasks like senior management restructures or making tough decisions on efficiencies. It’s also much easier to use an interim as an unofficial ‘mentor’ if they have had no previous connections with your council.

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