The article precisely says that "It is understood that Ferguson is on a short-term contract".. And the fact that she has prior top-end contracts with RM and TfL

The article precisely says that "It is understood that Ferguson is on a short-term contract".. And the fact that she has prior top-end contracts with RM and TfL proves that she will not be there forever. It's too easy to assume situations like this are 'at cost' to the taxpayer, it's probable that it is a net saving to the taxpayer.