New City Solicitor appointed by Salford City Council

Salford City Council has announced the appointment of a new City Solicitor. Surjit Tour, will take up the role, following Cathy Parkinson’s departure from the position on an interim basis. 

The appointed follows a competitive recruitment process, led by the appointment panel established by the Workforce Panel and chaired by the City Mayor, and will see Surjit Tour start from Monday 3 February 2025. 

The City Solicitor fulfils a key role within the organisation and is the Chief Legal adviser to the council, its Members and Officers. The position also includes the statutory role of Monitoring Officer for the council, and will ensure that lawful decision making and governance arrangements are in place and followed. 

In addition, the postholder is responsible for a range of services within the Legal and Governance division of the Resources and Transformation Directorate. These include Democratic and Members services, Elections, Coroners, Registrars, Information Governance and client management for the Shared Legal Service with Manchester City Council. 

Surjit Tour, is a highly respected solicitor with over 25 years experience. He has worked at Monitoring Officer level for over 15 years, building extensive local government experience, most recently at Sandwell and Wirral Councils, and as the Deputy at City of Wolverhampton Council. 

He comes to Salford with a record of delivering transformational governance to achieve corporate priorities and as a provider of high level legal advice to Elected Members and senior officers. 

Paul Dennett, Salford City Mayor, said: “I’m pleased join colleagues and other Elected Members in welcoming Surjit Tour to Salford City Council as our new City Solicitor and Monitoring Officer. 

He brings a wealth of experience, knowledge and expertise to this key role for our organisation. I look forward to working closely with him as our organisations Chief Legal advisor.” 

Surjit Tour added “I am excited to join Salford City Council and support the council deliver its ambitious and exciting Corporate Plan. 

The council has achieved so much over the recent past and I look forward to building on those successes with the City Mayor, Elected Members, colleagues from across the council, and our partners and stakeholders.”

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