Walsall Council's £1,000-a-day director to leave at end of contract

Councillor Sean Coughlan, the Labour leader of the council, also said Julie Alderson, the interim director for change and governance at the authority, will not be applying for the soon-to-be vacant chief executive role.

Ms Alderson arrived amid a storm last year with opposition councillors and unions furious at her appointment and £200,000 salary for 12 months work when the council was making severe cutbacks and axing hundreds of staff.

With Paul Sheehan, the council's current chief executive, announcing his intention to retire, Ms Alderson would be free to apply for the authority's top job when it begins its search.

However Councillor Coughlan has ruled this out. When asked by the prospect of Ms Alderson taking the role he said: "No, Julie Alderson was brought in to do a specific role for us and she will be leaving us at the end of her contract."

Her contract is due to expire in November this year and it is unknown at this stage if the council would look to replace her.

The position had been vacant for a little while before she took the role, with Councillor Coughlan insisting the council could not soldier on anymore without someone taking the role.

Following Councillor Coughlan's comments, Walsall Council stated: "The post taken up by Julie Alderson is a year-long interim role, which will be reviewed in November 2017."

Councillor Mike Bird, the opposition leader in Walsall, branded Ms Alderson's appointment as 'obscene' at the time.

He said: "My position on Ms Alderson remains the same. There are people internally that can do the job she is doing, I did not agree with her appointment at the time and I will not be sorry to see her leave."

The exact details of Ms Alderson's contract have never been disclosed, however it is believed she earns between £800 and £1,000 a day for four days a week work.

At the time of her appointment, Walsall Council needed to find £86 million of savings by 2020 and was threatening to close every library in the borough bar one, cease funding to the New Art Gallery and relocate the leather museum.

Fiona Farmer, the national officer for local authorities at Unite, said in November last year: "The council appears to have taken a step back from the real world when our hard-pressed members are endeavouring to provide the best possible services to the public."