Acting chief exec appointed at city council as party probe continues

Eugene Walker, Sheffield City Council’s executive director for resources, is stepping into the role of acting chief executive, while the authority’s chief executive Kate Josephs remains on discretionary leave.

A cross party council committee is considering what actions to take after it emerged Josephs had hosted drinks in her office during Covid-19 restrictions, with the chief executive currently on paid leave.

Kate Josephs has already apologised for the gathering at the Cabinet Office, held to mark her leaving the civil service on 17 December 2020 – while London was under Tier 3 restrictions.

At the time, she had been the director general of the Cabinet Office Covid Taskforce.

Leader of the council, Councillor Terry Fox, said: “There’s no doubt this has been a challenging time for the council, but I’ve said before that our workforce have been fantastic and I want to thank them again for continuing to drive this city forward.

“Eugene Walker will be stepping up as acting chief executive for this interim period, with support from the senior leadership team.

“We have so much to look forward to in Sheffield this year and together we will continue to deliver for this city.”

Walker added: “It’s a big year for Sheffield, with exciting plans for the city centre, major events taking place and important work to be done on our budget and delivering on the administration’s priorities.

“We are as committed as ever to serving the people of Sheffield.”