Somerset County Council's adult services boss quits job

Stephen Chandler invited TV crews in to see the challenges faced by adult social care

Somerset County Council's director of adult services has resigned from his post.

Stephen Chandler, who had been in place since January 2016, was instrumental in inviting BBC Panorama crews in to film the authority's social care team and the challenges it faced.

Council leader David Fothergill said his resignation was in no way linked to the documentary.

"He has been the right man in the right place at the right time... " he said.

The two-part documentary Crisis in Care showed the failings in the UK social care system and the growing needs of the ageing population.

It featured four families in Somerset in desperate need of social care help; the lack of council funding and resources in place; and how council teams were struggling to help them.

Mr Chandler will take up a new role at Oxfordshire County Council, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

He said the Panorama programmes were one of his proudest achievements, describing the filming as "a really positive experience".

"During my time here we've played a real role in putting social care up the agenda," he said.

"We're now seen as an authority that stands up for social care and is proud of what it does."