CHIEF executive Rob Vincent is leaving Kirklees Council – to take the reins at troubled Doncaster.

He has been hand-picked by the Government to step in and solve the South Yorkshire authority’s problems.

It will be a tough challenge at a council labelled “the worst in Britain.”

Mr Vincent, 58, and a team of commissioners are to be put in charge of Doncaster Council in a bid to turn around the failing authority, recently criticised over the deaths of seven children, Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles announced yesterday.

There will also be a non-executive Intervention and Recovery Board to “support, challenge and monitor” progress and report back to Mr Pickles.

The move, which has to be confirmed, follows a damning inspection by the Audit Commission, which criticised the authority’s social services over the deaths of the seven youngsters.

Mr Vincent was asked to become interim chief executive for the next 18 months but confirmed he would not return to Kirklees.

The process is now subject to a three week consultation period.

Mr Vincent, a father of four and a new grandfather, has led Kirklees for five years. He will leave his £155,000 a year post on July 1 but intends to remain living in the Colne Valley.

He said: “It is subject to consultation but I was approached in March by civil servants from the DCLG and asked if I would consider the move. I had to give it a little thought.

“There are issues here but after discussions with the leader and with other members I came to the view that Kirklees Council was reasonably well set.

“There are enormous difficulties but I think we have all set off well to tackle them. We have a well focussed set of directors at the second tier so in that sense I didn’t think there was a great risk to Kirklees Council and it would do well.

“The Doncaster job will be a big late challenge for me. But I will come in at a point when they are expecting change to occur and in a way that is a good start. I know there are a lot of people who are committed to doing their best for Doncaster and there are a lot of positive things to work with.

“Looking back at 20 years with Kirklees the highlights are the relationships and energy levels. I think that despite some of the challenges and the changes we face there are a lot of open relationships and positive confidence about the place.

“That’s what my job has been about. In specifics, I think we have handled the recession really well.

“We have spoken of losing up to 1,500 jobs over the course of three years. I was here in the 90s when we faced similar restrictions but we are facing a big a reduction in expenditure. We saw it coming fairly early and we set off to tackle it earlier than most places.”

He said: “I am looking forward to committing myself to helping Doncaster re-find its stride and make the progress that all who know the area are looking for. It has great history, some strengths to build on, and good prospects for improvement, and while we are aware of recent problems, it is clear that many individuals, officers, politicians and officers remain highly committed to achieving the best for local people.”

Kirklees Council leader Clr Mehboob Khan said while he is sorry to see an outstanding chief executive depart, Kirklees is in an excellent position to continue to improve.

He added: “Rob has done a terrific job here, so it is no surprise that when Government were considering somebody to lead Doncaster’s improvement journey, they decided to look here.”

Peter Davies, mayor of Doncaster, said: “We note the draft directions and welcome much of what they say.

“During the three-week consultation period, we will continue to make representations to the Government for the benefit of Doncaster.”

Kirklees are now expected to start hunting for a new chief executive.

DONCASTER Council has been slated in an Audit Commission report.

It described the council as ‘failing’ following a series of crises, including a brutal attack by two boys in council care in Edlington village last year.

The council’s social services department has also been criticised over the deaths of five children.

The report said Doncaster’s elected mayor since June 2009, English Democrat Peter Davies, the cabinet, its senior officers and some councillors were not capable of making improvements.

It noted the council had a ‘troubled history of poor governance’ following a scandal of 2001, when 21 councillors were convicted of fraud.

The commission said politics at the council were ‘dysfunctional’, and demanded the elimination of ‘bullying and intimidating behaviour’.

The report said there had been a failure to improve services due to the poor working relationship between the council, which had no other English Democrats as councillors, the mayor and the cabinet.

“Some influential councillors place antagonism towards the mayor and mayoral system and achievements of their political objectives above the people of Doncaster and their duty to lead the improvement of services,” the report noted.

Factfile on Rob Vincent

He was appointed as Chief Executive of Kirklees Council in September 2004.

He joined the council 20 years ago to lead its education resource management and was appointed Chief Education Officer in the mid-1990s.

His professional background is in Civil Engineering and Town Planning. He has worked in Dorset, Tameside and Kirklees.

Among a number of national posts he has been a non-executive member of the Board of Communities and Local Government since June 2008.