Audit Commission inspection chief resigns

12 Sep 02
Paul Kirby, the Audit Commission's director of inspection, has resigned from his post just weeks before local authorities are given the results of their Comprehensive Performance Assessments.

13 September 2002

Kirby told Public Finance he had made his decision months ago, but had decided to stay on until the first phase of the CPA was complete.

He will leave his post at the end of October, by which time all councils will have learned their fate, although the results will not have been made public. 'I want to work on making improvements happen on the ground as opposed to inspecting them,' Kirby said. 'I've been lucky enough to have been approached by other people to take on other jobs, and I'll make a decision in October.'

Kirby, who has been at the commission for three years, is leaving at a time of major structural reform for the watchdog.

The directorate of inspection, which he ran, is being merged with District Audit. The commission announced this week that the resulting directorate of operations will be run by former DA head Alan Meekings.

Audit Commission controller Sir Andrew Foster paid tribute to Kirby's work in overseeing the introduction of the CPA, saying he had 'done a great job' in putting the new systems in place.

'Paul has helped to consolidate the inspection service, developing it into a respected and credible force making real improvements to local services,' Foster added.

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