A county council is replacing the role of head of legal and democratic services with a head of corporate governance as part of a series of measures to make £1.4m in efficiency savings.

The move, by Northamptonshire County Council, is likely to attract widespread interest as local authorities grapple with a looming public spending crisis.

The new postholder will be responsible for legal and democratic services and monitoring officer duties.

The county authority began a review of its structure in November 2007, following the arrival of Katherine Kerswell, chief executive. The first stage of the project focused on senior leadership.

The authority said: ‘The aim of the review is to ensure that we have effective leaders and competent managers as well as to reorganise the management structure to put in place the right framework to make improvements at the council and to ensure better value for money.’

Northamptonshire’s legal department has already been in the news this year, when it emerged at an employment tribunal that Paul Morrissey, who held a position as deputy head of legal services at the authority last year, was not a qualified solicitor.