Senior Staff Shake-Up at Hartlepool Council : Departments Axed & Officials Told to Take on More Duties

Hartlepool Borough Council undertakes a partial management restructure, due to the departure of two council Directors in quick succession.

17th July 2025

Hartlepool Borough Council's once again tinkering with its top brass—this time following the reported 'quiet departure' of yet another senior official. According to a report presented by the Managing Director, the Executive Director for Development, Neighbourhoods and Regulatory Services Tony Hanson has vacated his post. However, its claimed rather than recruit openly or consider a full formal restructure that would save local taxpayers money, the council will will now reward two existing Assistant Directors by handing them “additional responsibilities” as well as extra pay. Its also claimed In-house staff will now "act up" in joint roles until a final leadership structure is confirmed—presumably at a later date, with HBC Exposed understanding no firm official timeline is in place.

The departure of Tony Hanson has reportedly allowed Hartlepool Borough Council to essentially scrap the existing Executive Director position splitting its duties between two shiny new roles:

• Director of Neighbourhoods and Regulatory Services

• Director of Housing, Growth and Communities

  
  

Its also claimed that buried in the proposals is a significant reshuffle of who reports to who, with the Director of Public Health will set to report to the Executive Director of Adult Services, with communications, marketing, procurement, data, intelligence and even Revenues and Benefits being scattered around like confetti—mostly under the watch of the Managing Director and Finance heads.

The council says this move aligns with its 2030 Council Plan and reportedly provides “stability and sustainability.” But many will wonder whether this is simply a reshuffle designed to disguise Hartlepool Borough Councils failures, rewarding its loyal insiders, and used as a move to further avoid open recruitment and scrutiny.

Extra Duties, Means Extra Pay...

In true Hartlepool Borough Council fashion, all this comes at a price. The Managing Director has been reportedly handed delegated authority to arrange additional payments to those picking up the extra duties—presumably without any oversight from councillors or the public. It’s all said to be being done under the council’s "Single Status Agreement" which guarantees staff a bump in pay for additional work responsibilities. There's no indication of how much this will cost, nor any mention of performance benchmarks or public accountability.

Members of the Councils Appointments Panel were reportedly 'pleased' with the use of “in-house expertise”—a phrase that, in Hartlepool Borough Council, often just means keeping control in the same hands.

Denise McGuckin Hartlepool Borough Councils Managing Director suggested the interim changes last 6 months, but councillors have insisted there should be no fixed timescale, essentially allowing these arrangements to float indefinitely.

Hartlepool Borough Council was recently criticised over its move to hand out thousands of pounds worth of pay increases to its seven top officials, with HBC Reporting that the total annual spend to allow HBC's seven officers to trouser huge salaries & pension contributions now stands at £969,705.00, up from last years figure of £943,186.00