A local authority chief executive has taken the accountable officer role at the local clinical commissioning group.

Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council chief executive Donna Hall has been appointed to run Wigan Borough CCG in a dual role.

Under the arrangement, council and CCG budgets will be pooled and a joint commissioning committee, including councillors, clinicians and staff from both organisations will oversee spending on hospital, mental health and community services.

The appointment of Ms Hall and the establishment of a single commissioning function is part of Wigan’s local plan, which has been under development since Greater Manchester’s £6bn health and social care devolution deal was concluded in 2016.

Council leader David Molyneux described Ms Hall’s appointment as a “major step” to providing sustainable services.

“We’re already seeing some really positive results of this kind of joined-up working between adult social care services, community nursing and GP clusters, and across the borough where public services like the police, health and council are working together under one roof to solve some of the local issues,” he said.

Andrew Foster, chief executive of Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Foundation Trust, said Ms Hall taking on the CCG role was “the best possible appointment”.

He added: “We already have very similar cultures in our organisations with a strong emphasis on quality, high performance and staff engagement.”