THE first key strand of a new partnership between Cherwell District Council and Oxfordshire County Council could be approved at a meeting next week.

Yvonne Rees, right, is expected to be recommended as the chief executive for Cherwell and the county council as a result.

Ms Rees is currently the chief executive of Cherwell and South Northamptonshire councils. She was appointed to that post in March 2017.

Her appointment is expected to mean the departure of the county council’s current chief executive Peter Clark.

Ms Rees will then be responsible for a potentially radical overhaul of Oxfordshire services as part of the county council's Fit for the Future programme, which could save £58m a year.

She has previously been the chief executive of Mole Valley District Council and served as strategic director for customers and communities at Surrey County Council.

The county council’s remuneration committee will meet next Monday from 2pm, but much of the meeting will be heard in private because of the personal information that will be disclosed in the proceedings.

The committee's recommendation is then subject to approval by the county council.

On its website, it is stated: “The papers for the item [concerning any appointment] have not been made public and should be regarded as confidential by members and officers entitled to receive them."