Walsall MBC chief executive, Annie Shepperd, is moving to take on the top job at Southwark LBC, in one of three top-tier moves just announced.

‘Walsall has meant so much to me and it is only an exciting opportunity of a lifetime that would take me away from the area,' said Mrs Shepperd, 54. ‘It [Southwark] has huge challenges and I think my time at Walsall has prepared me for this bigger job.' Both councils are currently rated as three-star authorities and ‘improving well' by the Audit Commission, and both have progressed from having been categorised as ‘weak' in earlier CPAs. But Walsall's improvement curve, from when it was condemned as the worst authority in the country, has been steeper. ‘