SOMERSET County Council will be spending £900 a day on a single member of staff as it appoints its second interim head of finance in the space of a year.

Peter Lewis joined the authority on a temporary basis in June 2018 following the resignation of Kevin Nacey, who had been with the county council for 31 years.

Mr Lewis had indicated he would be leaving the post after the council agreed its budget for 2019/20, which will be discussed by the full council in Taunton on February 20.

His replacement, Sheila Collins, will hold her role until March 2020 as the council undergoes a “serious re-organisation” of its management structure.

A council spokesman said: “We can confirm that we have appointed an interim director of finance for a period of 13 months with the impending departure of the Peter Lewis, who currently holds the position on an interim basis.

“The successful candidate, Sheila Collins, is very experienced and has been with the authority for several months in a senior finance role.

“She has been working closely with Mr Lewis on the financial oversight and planning that has been key to putting the authority on a firmer financial footing, in what has been a very difficult time for local government finance.”

Ms Collins will be paid £900 per day for her services, including any expenses incurred – higher than the £125,000 a year salary for a permanent equivalent.

She will, however, be responsible for her own tax and national insurance contributions, and the council will not pay her any sick pay, holiday pay or pension contributions during her 13-month tenure.

The spokesman added: “This is a standard interim rate and arrangement for a post of this kind – one that few people are qualified or experienced enough to fill.”

Unlike her predecessor, the council will not have to shell out up to £270 a day in agency fees.

The council had originally intended to recruit a permanent replacement for Mr Lewis in the form of a director of corporate resources, which could have included the statutory role of responsible financial officer (also known as section 151 officer).

Effort was made to recruit to this post in June, September and December 2018 – but no successful candidate was forthcoming.

The council said this failure was down to a “national shortage” of people who were “qualified or experienced enough” for this role, claiming other local authorities had struggled to fill similar positions over the last 12 months.

In light of this, chief executive Patrick Flaherty took the decision to suspend the recruitment and secure an interim replacement to ensure the council’s statutory duties could still be met.

Chris Squire, the council’s director of human resources and organisational development, said there was an “urgent need” to fill this post with “an experienced, well-regarded professional” in light of the authority’s ongoing financial challenges.

A spokesman added: “As the authority is about to go through a significant reorganisation, the plan is to take stock once this has been completed to see exactly what role we would need in the future structure.

“Once this reorganisation is complete we will have a clearer view of the role we want to appoint to permanently. We’re confident that we’ll be able to get the right people into the right roles.

“Peter Lewis will remain with the authority until the 2019/20 budget has been agreed. We thank him for his great expertise and tireless hard work and wish him all the best for the future.”

The full council will have to ratify Ms Collins’ appointment as section 151 officer at its budget-setting meeting on February 20.