Former top Council officer Richard Penn has a new job - helping Britain's chief executives who have problems.

Mr Penn - who has just retired from his £110,000 post as chief executive of Bradford Council suffering from stress - will act as unpaid consultant when problems arise.

They could involve settlements and early retirements including negotiations between the chief executives and councils.

Mr Penn, 52, left Bradford Council on grounds of sickness last month after ten years as the chief officer.

He will now act as an unpaid consultant to the Association of Local Authority Chief Executives.

He will be a back-up to Bill Miles, who has been representing ALACE members since 1986.

Mr Miles took up the voluntary role when West Yorkshire County Council, where he was chief executive, was abolished.

Mr Penn left Bradford Council with a pension from the West Yorkshire Pensions Fund, to which he contributed a sixth of his wage.

He announced his new role when he stepped down from ALACE as honorary secretary.

Ironically, he could finish up being involved in negotiations with his successor and Bradford Council if problems arose in the future. He said today he had been asked to act as a stand-in for Mr Miles who worked three or four days a month.

" There is no salary. I am simply helping ALACE,'' he said.

Council leader Ian Greenwood said he had no doubt that Mr Penn would have taken medical advice about taking on voluntary or other work after his retirement. But he said he would "not feel it appropriate" for Mr Penn to represent any new chief executive in Bradford in the foreseeable future.

During his time with Bradford Council, Mr Penn has been involved in the arrangements for several cases where top officers have left in controversial circumstances, including former Director of Education Sari Conway and Theatres Director Anamaria Wills.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.