NEWCASTLE: Council execs’ pay rises amid £32m cuts

Newcastle’s top council executives have been given another set of major pay rises – in the midst of a Covid-19 cash crisis that is forcing the authority to find £32 million of emergency budget cuts.

The city council has already imposed a recruitment freeze and ceased all non-essential spending on its properties, while also planning to cut or delay spending on a number of projects in an urgent attempt to balance the books in the wake of the pandemic’s devastating financial impact.

But it has now been confirmed that chief executive Pat Ritchie and other high-paid directors have been given bumper salary boosts.

Ms Ritchie’s pay has jumped from £183,891 to £188,948, up by 2.75% in line with a national agreement for council chief executives across the country.

The £5,000 increase is a more substantial rise than the chief executive received last year and means that her annual salary has gone up by almost £40,000 since 2016.

The council’s other senior directors are also in line for a 2.75% rise for 2021/22, with the same rise applied to all council staff and backdated to April 1.

That will take the maximum possible salary for director of resources Tony Kirkham to £145,760 from £141,859, while pay brackets for other senior figures Michelle Percy, Christine Herriot, Tom Warbuton, Judith Hay, and Alison McDowell go up to £135,092 per year.

The council’s Liberal Democrat opposition said that senior council officers getting pay rises worth thousands of pounds risked “appearing insensitive” at a time when many city residents and businesses are struggling because of the coronavirus crisis.

An opposition spokesperson said: “Pay agreements, including those for senior officers like the chief executive, are made at a national level; we recognise that the council has not made this decision unilaterally.

“However, the timing is extremely unfortunate, when many private sector workers are facing furlough wage reductions, the threat of unemployment, and a precarious jobs market for the foreseeable future. The council also faces a £32 million shortfall and a recruitment freeze.

“This move risks appearing insensitive at a time of great challenge for the city and its residents.”

The median salary for Newcastle City Council employees is £24,491.

The council says that it has suffered a £64 million hit because of the costs of managing the response to Covid-19, lost income from sources like parking charges, and an inability to make previously planned spending reductions.

While the authority has stopped short of announcing job losses or drastic reductions to frontline services, council leader Nick Forbes said last month that making up to £32 million of urgent savings this year will leave it “very thinly spread indeed and with very little financial resilience for the future”.

A council spokesperson said: “The council’s pay policy statement has been updated to reflect proposed changes to the senior management structure and must be approved by full council.

“The pay award of 2.75% which took effect from April 1 of this year was set by the National Joint Council – local government employers and agreed by the trade unions. It applies to all council chief executives across the country.”

North East council chief executives’ pay, according to latest published figures:

Terry Collins, Durham County Council – £196,343 (2020/21) 

Pat Ritchie, Newcastle City Council – £188,948 (2021/22, up from £183,891 for 2020/21) 

Patrick Melia, Sunderland City Council – £186,471 (2020/21) 

Daljit Lally, Northumberland County Council (shared with Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust) – £184,999 (2020/21) 

Sheena Ramsey, Gateshead Council –  £168,014 (2020/21) 

South Tyneside Council, chief executive post currently vacant – £161,921 (2019/20) 

Paul Hanson, North Tyneside Council – £153,890 (2020/21) 

Northumberland County Council chief executive Daljit Lally’s salary is funded jointly with the Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. The council’s website lists conflicting pay brackets of up to £184,999 and £189,999 in documents published in September 2019. At time of writing, the council could not confirm what Mrs Lally’s salary currently is.