Bristol City Council, Slough BC, Birmingham City Council, Cheshire East Council. These are just a handful of recent high-profile cases where councils have dismissed or suspended chief executives and/or senior managers. And now, just last week, a crisis in the top team at Lancashire CC unfolded after an internal rift between members and officers exploded into a very public row.

Following an unprecedented move which saw Conservative leader Geoff Driver refuse to meet or communicate with five of the council's top officers, including chief executive Jo Turton, Cllr Driver mooted plans to scrap up to five senior roles.