PUBLIC SECTOR: Oakes replaces Cawley at Surrey council

Essex County Council is set to lose its communications head Mark Oakes following his appointment as communications director for Surrey County Council. In an uncharacteristically rapid recruitment move by recent standards in local government, Oakes will join Surrey early next year, replacing Alison Cawley who left in October to join PricewaterhouseCoopers as a head-hunter in its local government practice. Oakes will report to chief executive Paul Coen and oversee a team of 12.