Cash-strapped Cheshire East Council is spending a whopping £203,000 on a specialist agency to recruit top bosses to vacant posts, writes Belinda Ryan.
The information was revealed in a freedom of information request from a member of the public.
The resident had asked how much the council has paid to, and committed to pay to, Starfish Search as part of the extensive recruitment that is currently under way.
The council replied: “The spend as at 12 March 2025 is £105,368 with the remaining balance being £98,316.13.
“This makes the overall spend £203,684.”
This latest figure comes after the Local Democracy Reporting Service revealed last year that the hard-up council had splashed out £37,736 on a “rigorous recruitment and selection process” to appoint its new chief executive, Rob Polkinghorne.
It also comes after the council raised council tax by the maximum 4.99% for 2025-26, and is introducing parking charges on Sundays and evenings in a bid to boost its coffers.
Cheshire East has haemorrhaged top bosses over the past couple of years.
In December, the LDRS revealed that the council was looking to fill six top posts.
These were executive director of resources, director of public health, director of planning and environment, director of people, assistant chief executive, and monitoring officer.
Cheshire East has been approached for a comment about the spend on recruitment agencies but has so far not responded.
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