CALLS are being made for the Government to help resolve a county management struggle.

Pendle Peer Lord Tony Greaves said he submitted a private notice question to the House of Lords to see if the government was making ‘contingency plans’ to intervene with new proposals by Lancashire County Council.

This comes after leader County Cllr Geoff Driver proposed streamlining, which would include forcing out chief executive Jo Turton.

The proposals will be discussed at a full county council meeting tonight.

Lord Greaves said the urgent question notice had been turned down but he now intends to submit a written request.

He said: “We tried to get the first notion approved but it was thrown out.

“Now the plan is to put a written request question in to try to keep it going and get a response about it.”

The potential changes have been criticised by opposition members of the county council.

County Labour group leader, County Cllr Azhar Ali, previously called the proposals a ‘witch hunt’.

He said: “We need a response. Theresa May has been a silent leader.

“The leadership nationally is dysfunctional and the leader in the county cabinet is dysfunctional.”

The new chief executive role under the plans would include financial and ‘Section 151’ accounting responsibilities, for which current postholder Ms Turton is not qualified.

Reports have claimed Ms Turton said she will advise the chairman of the authority to rule the proposals as ‘out of order’ in tonight’s meeting in a leaked email.

The plans would see the number of top posts cut from 17 to 12.

Last week, trade unionists called for county council leader Cllr Driver to stand down after he barred his chief executive Ms Turton and four senior staff from all briefings he attends.

The 72-year-old, who took back control in May’s local elections, was one of four people arrested and interviewed by police in May as part of the long-running One Connect inquiry into county council contracts.

He is on police bail ‘on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and witness intimidation’ pending further investigations.