Small beer

Durham County Council was lambasted by one of its own members for restricting its initial search for a new chief executive to internal candidates, rather than advertising externally - at what would inevitably have been greater cost.

Meanwhile Darlington Borough Council drew flak from the TaxPayers' Alliance for "wasting" more than £14,000 on recruitment consultants in its efforts to appoint a new director of children and adult services.

When it comes to investing to attract the best talent, our councils can be forgiven for thinking they are damned if they do, and damned if they don't.

I rather think Darlington has the right of it. Events in Rotherham and other places have shown how we are all rightly appalled when the most vulnerable in our society are let down by the institutions that are there to protect them. Poor leadership nearly always lies at the heart of these failures. If we object to spending £14,000 - small beer in the context of the overall cost of these vital services - to get the best person to lead the safeguarding of those in need of it, then austerity is making monsters of us all.

Keith Wilkinson, Stokesley