TIMELINE OF EVENTS

■■July 2017 - Derbyshire County Council scraps chief executive role, assistant chief executive and strategic director of corporate resources in a bid to save £300,000 a year

■■August 2017 - Ian Stephenson, outgoing chief executive, leaves his £138,000 post

■■September 2017 - strategic director of adult care, Joy Hollister, is appointed head of paid service with £10,000 pay bump above other strategic directors

■■April 2018 - Emma Alexander, strategic director of commissioning, communities and policy, be designated as head of paid service on a permanent basis

■■June 2018 - It is revealed Ian Stephenson received a redundancy payout of £124,694

■■November 2020 - Derbyshire County Council’s lead officer role, occupied by Emma Alexander, is upgraded to managing executive director, with a pay hike of £30,000, for one year

■■September 2021 - County council approves a move to make managing director role permanent with a salary of up to £176,000 with the job open to internal and external applicants