Top official could earn £130k in devolution drive

The plan is set to be agreed by council leaders at Bracknell Forest Council's Time Square HQ next week

A top official could earn an annual salary of about £130,000 for three or four days' work a week to focus on Berkshire's prosperity and regional devolution drive.

The person, who would become a "programme director for devolution" on a one-year contract, would work on behalf of the county's six councils and focus on strategic planning and policies.

The role is set to be agreed on Monday by the Berkshire Prosperity Board, which was set up by the authorities last year.

The board is attended by the leaders and chief executives of the six councils and is hosted at Bracknell Forest Council's HQ.

The job description shows that the director's time would mainly be divided between Reading and Wokingham Borough Councils.

The move comes as the Labour government is making changes to how councils function.

County councils are in the process of being abolished, and councils are being told to unite to create "strategic authorities" to tackle regional challenges and devise policies for housing, planning and transport.

The government has justified this by arguing that these authorities will be more accountable to communities by moving decisions away from London.

The director would be expected to be involved in the creation of a potential strategic authority in the Thames Valley.

But the borders of that remain unclear, as councils are currently in discussions over which authority they wish to be in.

An early proposal would see the authority cover Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and even Swindon, and would be led by an elected mayor.