Hackney Council paid director over £200k per year
Details of senior staff pay, published on the council’s website, did not include the Corporate Director of Neighbourhoods and Regeneration prior to his departure. Photo: Hackney Citizen
A senior council interim director cost £207,480 to employ over the past year, Hackney Council has admitted.
It estimated the post would have cost approximately £177,000 including National Insurance and pension contributions, if it had been made permanent.
A council spokesperson said: “…the interim director has successfully bid for and secured over £58 million in Government funding to build more than 800 new affordable homes across Hackney. At the same time, he has helped exceed a three-year Greater London Authority (GLA) target for affordable housing delivery, including 57% of family-sized (three-bedroom or more) social rented homes, above the London target of 42%.”
Steve Douglas worked as interim Corporate Director of Neighbourhoods and Regeneration, a position which ceased to exist after 31 March 2011 when the department’s work came under the control of Health and Community Services and Housing. He continues as director of the housing, regeneration and development consultancy, DouglasWood.
The revelation comes amidst government plans for all senior council staff salaries above £100,000 to require a public vote of approval by councillors. It is not yet clear how such a system would work in boroughs such as Hackney which have an elected mayor. A council spokesperson said that the council is “awaiting further guidance from central government about how these proposed powers will be provided to councillors and applied on a local level in Hackney.”
The council says it has made a 25% reduction in the number of chief officers and savings of around £1m. Details of senior staff pay are published on the council’s website. These include twenty six positions on £80k+, five of whom earn over £100,000 a year. The position of Corporate Director of Neighbourhoods and Regeneration was not on the list (prior to his departure).
A corporate webpage exists that lists the wages of the senior council officers interim/casual and permanent, Hackney Council has admitted.
‘The council says it has made a 25% reduction in the number of chief officers … the position of Corporate Director of Neighbourhoods and Regeneration was not on the list’, says Alex.
This revelation came amongst others such as this website Openly Local that details the financial duties that senior council officers are expected to be capable of undertaking.
Capital Expenditure spending £158,860,000
Central services spending £96,848,000
Cultural and related services spending £17,196,000
Environmental services spending £34,612,000
Expenditure on Highways, Roads and Transport Services spending £29,783,000
Expenditure on Social Services spending £162,628,000
Homelessness spending £15,348,000
Housing benefits spending £7,206,000
Housing strategy advice and registered social landlords spending £2,462,000
Housing welfare spending £18,706,000
Non-school funding spending £62,739,000
Other council property (Non-HRA) spending £15,000
Planning and Development Services spending £19,297,000
Private sector housing renewal spending £1,554,000
Schools spending £186,396,000
AN says ‘we want less talented staff at cheaper rates of pay’.
And my question to Team HC as a starter for 10 is which Corporate Director is responsible for our Children’s Education now that there is a 25% reduction?
Yep all they have to do is spend it..
Disgusting!
A senior council interim director cost £207,480
Exactly how long can one person be interim? He has been there for nearly two years now. At the same he find enough hours in the day to run his own consultancy that help deals between property developers and local councils and housing associations
http://www.douglaswoodltd.com/index.shtml
Well I wonder who lined whos pockets. Interim senior offical whose consultancy deals with government and builders and I am guessing (only a guess mind) that friends of DouglasWood might have gotten contracts to provide services. Someone must have made a few pounds out of this (over and above any salary)
“As chief executive of the Housing Corporation, Steve headed up the agency which had responsibility for an £8.4 billion three-year budget”
Tells you something that he leaves a high powered job as Chief Executive for a directorate at lowly Hackney. Off course he can do as he pleases at Hackney and rakes in the cash at the same time