The chief financial officer of Shropshire Council has announced he is standing down, a month after its chief executive left following the declaration of a financial emergency. James Walton will leave the council at the end of January. Shropshire declared a financial emergency last September, following its latest monitoring report by Mr Walton. Chief executive Andy Begley announced his intention to stand down shortly after and left his post in December. Mr Walton, who had been chief financial officer since 2013 and became executive director in 2021, said his departure “had been a difficult point to arrive at”.