Kate Josephs: inside story of Sheffield Council’s chief executive decision following partygate

An announcement on the decision to allow Ms Josephs to return to work was made this week following nearly six months of secretive deliberations and investigations by the council.

In that time the council came under fire for withholding almost all information about its investigations and how it was making its decision and for the process taking so long.

Those on the committee were councillors: Penny Baker (deputy leader of Liberal Democrats), Julie Grocutt (deputy leader of Labour), Shaffaq Mohammed (leader of Liberal Democrats), Douglas Johnson (leader of Sheffield Green Party), and Sioned-Mair Richards (current Labour Lord Mayor).

In a joint statement, the committee said: “Firstly we would like to thank the people of Sheffield for their patience while the independent investigation has been carried out, and the cross-party committee has conducted its work. We understand this has been a difficult time and people have, quite rightly, been eager to see this situation conclude.

“The decision was made based on the facts at hand and with very careful consideration. The committee acknowledges that Kate has apologised and believes that she feels genuine remorse."

Labour council leader Terry Fox was not on the committee but members of it said he met with Ms Josephs in person on Wednesday ahead of the announcement.

Speaking about the decision he said: “It’s no secret that I’ve been deeply disappointed by Kate Josephs’ actions. Over the last few months I’ve repeatedly said that I share the anger and upset felt by some Sheffielders about the choices Kate has made. Those feelings don’t just go away overnight.

“The cross-party committee, which followed national guidelines was put in place for a reason – to ensure a fair process – and I respect their decision.”

How the decision was settled

The committee was set up soon after Ms Josephs admitted in January to having a leaving party in the Cabinet Office to mark the end of her time as director general of the government’s Covid taskforce – which she was later fined for by police.

An independent investigator was then brought in to help the committee decide on Ms Josephs’ future at the authority.

The leaving party was deemed not strictly relevant to the independent investigation and members agreed no-one should be disciplined for matters before the start of their current employment.

A written warning eventually issued to Ms Josephs by the committee was for not telling Sheffield colleagues about her involvement in partygate sooner.

When asked if the outcome went down to a vote, Coun Johnson said the eventual decision to keep her in post was unanimous.

He said although there were principles of decision-making the committee had to follow to prevent things like improper political interference they had a “wide range of choices” – which the council said spanned from no action to dismissal.

Whether or not there were disagreements along the way is being kept between the committee.

Coun Johnson said personally his mind did not change during the process.

“I am very pleased Kate Josephs is back in the post,” he said. “Since being appointed, she has proved to be an exemplary chief executive, bringing a fresh perspective after many years of stagnation, a sense of vision and outlook for the city, a wave of modernisation in the council and has tackled the council’s lack of diversity head on. It is the right outcome: it is just a pity the process took so long as it did no-one any good.”

Did it need to take as long as it did?

The council’s line to the public was that it strictly adhered to a prescribed process that forms part of the contracts of officers – suggesting the time frame was out of its control.

But when asked if it really needed to go on for as long as it did, Coun Johnson said: “No. As with any staff matter, I would have preferred it to be dealt with as speedily as possible and certainly far more quickly than the five months that it took.”

He added: “It’s been very unfortunate that this issue has dragged on for over five months but it is important to look forward now.”

Coun Mohammed said they had to wait for the findings of an independent investigator before making the decision.

He said: “As a city, we’ve got to move forward and part of that is having a functioning chief executive. We’ve ended up with that now. Sorry, it’s taken a bit longer but that is the prescribed route. That’s where we are.

“Once you put it out to an external investigator then it’s out of your hands and into somebody else’s then you have to wait for that process. If you instigate that process you have to carry on with it.”

Mystery investigator revealed

For the first time, Richard Penn was revealed as the investigator appointed to lead an independent investigation into the impact of the scandal on Ms Josephs’ job as chief executive.

Mr Penn was the chief executive of Bradford City Council for nine years and he has experience leading these types of complex investigations from his work as the commissioner for standards at the National Assembly for Wales.

He was selected by Ms Josephs from a list of three names provided by the Joint Negotiating Committee’s (JNC) National Joint Secretaries.

The three options were decided by the JNC on a “taxi rank” system subject to their availability and not having any connection to the scope of the inquiry.

Mr Penn interviewed witnesses and considered documents to prepare a report stating his opinion on whether the evidence supported any allegation of misconduct or incapability and providing recommendations on what, if any, action should be taken.

The council said a wide range of people including staff made their feelings known and all comments that it received were passed on to Mr Penn.

His report would have been crucial in the committee’s decision but the council said this will not be published and committee members have also refused to share it.

How much did it all cost?

Ms Josephs was on paid leave from her £200,000 per year role while senior officer Eugene Walker, who is normally paid around £150,000 per year, covered for her on extra pay – the amount of which is not yet known.

Ms Josephs’ total pay during her time off is estimated to be around £90,000.

The council said it has not been invoiced for the cost of the investigation yet but this would be published “at the earliest opportunity”.

Money paid to the investigator was set at the Local Government Association’s (LGA) normal consultancy rate for external work, the council said. The total figure for this has not yet been confirmed by the council or the LGA.

Time to deliver

Speaking about how Sheffield can trust Ms Josephs to lead the authority now, Coun Mohammed said: “It is a challenge for her and she said she is up for it, to go out to those people who have been hurt by what has happened with partygate. We all know it’s not an easy job but Kate Josephs has signalled that she wants to go out to people and have those difficult conversations.

“I think now the committee has come to a decision that she should be given that opportunity to rebuild that trust and confidence both with staff in the council but more importantly the people of Sheffield.

“Ultimately, I think we will judge her on her work. We are in some very challenging times and I think most people just want her to deliver. Yes, she has to rebuild trust and confidence but also start to deliver.

“Ultimately, it’s for the people of Sheffield to decide after a period of time whether her return to work has been successful.”