Chief exec to leave financially threatened council

Andy Begley had held the post of chief executive for more than five years

Shropshire Council has announced its chief executive is to step down.

Andy Begley had been in the role since the start of 2020 and had seen the authority through the coronavirus pandemic, floods, storms and huge budget cuts.

The council is currently in a perilous financial position and this week the Liberal Democrat leader of the council, Heather Kidd, said it may need to borrow £100m to balance the books and avoid the threat of effective bankruptcy.

The local branch of the Unison union said the chief executive had "failed to act, failed to listen, and failed to protect this council from disaster". However, Mr Begley said he was "proud" of what had been achieved in challenging circumstances.

Kidd said: "I fully respect and support Andy's decision which I know has been a very difficult one for him to make."

She said he had shown "strong leadership and direction at what have been, and continue to be, very difficult times for the council".

Executive director Tanya Miles will lead the organisation until a new chief executive can be found.

Neither Mr Begley nor council leaders have outlined his reasons for stepping down.

In a statement, he said leading an organisation "of this size and complexity through such challenging periods has been difficult but also a privilege" and was "very proud of what we've achieved together".

"I would like to thank all the staff for their continuing dedication and hard work, and wish the organisation every success for the future," he added.

Ash Silverstone said Mr Begley's departure needed to be a "turning point" for the council

Mr Begley was appointed the council's interim chief executive in February 2020 and was given the post on a permanent basis in August that year.

He has overseen considerable change at Shropshire Council, including the move out of its Shirehall headquarters, the bid to build a new relief road around Shrewsbury and a subsequent u-turn by politicians, while also witnessing the collapse of the previous Conservative administration following May's elections.

He was involved in helping the previous administration strip out £41m of savings in 2023-24 and another £47m in 2024-25.

In 2024, he won an award at the West Midlands Leadership Awards and later that year he published a self-help book entitled I didn't row the Atlantic #sowhat.

'Failed leadership'

Mr Begley has been the returning officer for two sets of council elections, a general election and the 2021 North Shropshire by-election.

He had spoken publicly about his frustrations with central government funding, claiming it was not fairly allocated to rural councils.

Ash Silverstone, Branch Secretary of Unison Shropshire, said the departure of the chief executive was "an essential first step, but by no means is it the end of the changes needed to save Shropshire Council".

He said the authority had suffered "chronic underfunding" from central government, but said its current financial woes were also a result of "failed leadership at the very top".

Mr Silverstone said Mr Begley's departure "must mark a turning point" and that he hoped the next chief executive would listen to the union and work with it.