THE chief officer of Stoke-on-Trent City Council remains off work this week.

Chris Harman, interim chief executive, went away on leave following the selection of John van de Laarschot as the council's permanent chief executive on September 30.

Mr Harman had also applied for the £195,000-a-year post and had reached the final three candidates for the job before being turned down.

The council has not commented on Mr Harman's whereabouts, other than to say he is officially on leave and he remains the authority's interim chief executive.

Several councillors have requested clarification on the reasons for Mr Harman's continuing absence and his future plans, but the council has yet to respond to their requests or make any official statement on how it intends to provide top-level management until Mr van de Laarschot's arrival in January.