Departure 'not linked to finance'

After seven years at the top, Ian Miller will leave on Friday

Denbighshire County Council has denied any link between the departure of its chief executive and an audit of the authority's finances.

After seven years in the job, Ian Miller is to step down on Friday.

The council said some "media sources" reported a link between his departure and the forthcoming publication of the Audit Office's review of its accounts.

It stressed that the council had a "clean bill of health" since 2002 and expected that trend to continue.

Mr Miller announced on Monday that he intends to step down at the end of the week, "to pursue new challenges".

The announcement came after a difficult period for the council, which was strongly criticised in a report by schools inspector Estyn in September 2007.

This will provide an opportunity to assess the direction the authority is heading Chris Ruane, Vale of Clwyd MP

It highlighted poor communication and "ineffective" political leadership at the council, which led by the Independent group, and the criticisms led to the ousting of then leader Rhiannon Hughes.

In September 2008, the council was criticised for the way it handled the opening and closure of Hyfrydle, a residential centre for autistic children which opened in 2007.

On Tuesday, the Labour group of councillors called for "complete openness and transparency" in all council dealings.

Responding to some media reports, the council said: "In the interests of clarity and accuracty, Denbighshire County Council firmly denies there is any link between Mr Miller's leaving and the publication of an audit commission report into the county council's finances as stated in some media sources.

"The council would like to stress that since 2002/03, the authority has been given a clean bill of health in the Audit Office's annual audit of the accounts.

"The accounts for 2007/08 have been finalised and we have no reason to expect that the council will not receive a clean audit again."

Vale of Clwyd MP Chris Ruane said Mr Miller's departure was "unfortunate" but opened a "window of opportunity" for the council.

He added: "The authority has a strong and capable workforce but it has been let down by its leadership - politically and administratively.

"This will provide an opportunity to assess the direction the authority is heading."