New Kirklees Council chief executive Adrian Lythgo: We are in good shape
Aug 4 2010 by Barry Gibson, Huddersfield Daily Examiner
Adrian Lythgo
KIRKLEES Council’s new chief executive has his eye on the manufacturing industry as he takes up his new role.
Adrian Lythgo, who began his new job on Monday, wants to help Huddersfield build its way out of recession.
Speaking at Civic Centre 3 yesterday, he said: “I intend to be out and about in my new role, particularly with local businesses.
“Manufacturing accounts for 26% of output in Kirklees, which puts us third in the country, behind only Leeds and Birmingham.
“That’s a big strength for the local economy and I want to work with manufacturers to see how the council can help them.
“There are a number of manufacturers expanding into green technology and we’re looking at working with them to make sure they have the facilities to do that.”
Mr Lythgo, who was the council’s finance director, takes over from Rob Vincent, who was chief executive for six years.
Mr Lythgo takes up his post in the middle of a public spending squeeze which will see the council’s non-school workforce drop from 11,200 to 9,700. Kirklees officers believe the budget will have to come down by £83m by 2014.
Mr Lythgo wants council services to improve, even as the amount spent on them falls.
He said: “Councils provide 700-odd services and we have to decide at what level to provide them. The key is to focus on people’s needs.
“There will have to be a general level of universal provision while tailoring services for individuals. If you take something like education, we provide schools everywhere and top-up services to particular schools with particular needs.
“The biggest impact will be in the street scene. At the moment we cut the grass and sweep the streets a set number of times a year.
“It’s about tailoring that service with the help of local councillors to make it more appropriate. Some streets will be cleaned more and some less.
“The key thing is that the streets are clean. You start with the outcome and then design the service around that.”
