BLAENAU Gwent council is upping the salary it is offering for the job of corporate director of education after failing to find the right candidate in January.

At a meeting of the council yesterday, members voted unanimously in favour of the move, which will see the salary offered go from £80,000 a year to up to £95,000 in an attempt to attract the “right” sort of candidate.

In December Newport council told Blaenau Gwent it wanted to withdraw from a partnership arrangement which saw a shared education officer position covering both authorities.

The council supported the recommendation to pay a supplement in addition to the basic salary to recruit to the post of corporate director of education.

A report presented to councillors said: “The board has agreed that the role of corporate director of education be re-advertised and to recruit the right calibre of candidate that the remuneration package is enhanced with a market supplement in addition to basic salary.”

It also said they advertised the job in January 2014 offering £80,000 but “the response to this advertisement was limited to four applicants all of whom, following a shortlisting exercise, did not fully meet the essential requirements for the role.”

However, the item was debated before councillors voted.

Leader of minority group John Hopkins said that “throwing money at a problem does not necessarily fix it”.