Name: Pam Donnellan
Job: Director, Bournemouth social services
Salary: £82,000
Pam Donnellan used to dread going to work - it would take at least three hours in heavy traffic. But she made the tedious trek from her Essex home to London because she believed her job in social services was worth it.
Now, after more than 20 years, the 56-year-old has swapped commuting for a five-minute walk through Bournemouth. The move has meant a drop her salary as well. As director of Bournemouth social services, she earns "slightly less" than she did as head of social services for the tiny Corporation of London.
However, Donnellan says the job has fulfilled her long-held ambition to work for a unitary authority. Used to the problems of an inner city, she now faces the different challenges of a seaside resort.
There are competing priorities. As with many coastal towns, drugs are a problem. The city also has a mobile population and attracts its share of drop-outs. Since she took office, Donnellan has had a very tight budget. Cuts have been made on children in foster care and she also has a staff recruitment crisis.
Having already raised the pay for home care assistance staff, she is now targeting carers in London.
"Bournemouth is expensive to move if you are living in the north or the Midlands. But if you are used to London, it is not so bad."
Donnellan has plans to settle permanently in the south-west. "I enjoy this job more than any job I have ever done. I don't have the hassle of commuting and evening meetings.
"Everything is more measured. There is more time to think and not be reactive and crisis-driven."
