New Brighton and Hove Council chief's £150,000 salary (From The Argus)
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New Brighton and Hove Council chief's £150,000 salary
12:18pm Friday 26th October 2012 in News By Tim Ridgway, Local government reporter
New Brighton and Hove City Council chief executive Penny Thompson
A new council chief has been appointed – on a six-figure salary which exceeds the Prime Minister’s annual pay cheque.
Penny Thompson received unanimous approval from councillors to become Brighton and Hove City Council’s new chief executive last night.
The local authority revealed she will earn £150,000 – less than the £161,500 paid to her predecessor John Barradell but more than the £142,500 paid to Prime Minister David Cameron.
Council leader Jason Kitcat said: “I’m extremely excited by Penny’s appointment and I’m delighted there was unanimous cross-party agreement.
“She will be a welcome addition to the senior management team at the council.”
When asked about the reduced salary, Coun Kitcat said it was “absolutely a conscious decision”.
He added: “We’re seeking to deliver on our manifesto commitment to cut the gap between the highest and lowest paid at the council.”
Recruitment costs
The appointment was made after a controversial recruitment process that cost the local authority £30,000 and sparked disagreements between senior councillors over the shortlist of four candidates.
Troubleshooter Conservative group leader Geoffrey Theobald said: “The panel, which included two Conservative members, unanimously agreed the appointment.”
Labour group leader Gill Mitchell said: “We welcome the appointment and look forward to working with Penny when she takes up her new post.”
Ms Thompson was the head of the General Care Social Council, which was abolished by the Government and closed in September. After training as a social worker, Ms Thompson was credited with turning around the fortunes of Sheffield City Council’s social services team and leading it out of special measures.
She then became chief executive of the London Borough of Hackney, earning a basic salary of £164,839.
She retired from the job in 2008 with a six-figure severance package, becoming a consultant to local authorities, quangos and the NHS.
This included becoming a troubleshooter at NHS Haringey in the wake of the Baby Peter case.
Ms Thompson was made a CBE for services to social care in 2012.
She will succeed Mr Barradell, who has taken up a similar role at the City of London Corporation.
A council spokeswoman said Ms Thompson will officially start her job on December 1 but said there would be a short handover period from temporary chief executive Catherine Vaughan.
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Comments(29)
pwlr1966
says...
1:00pm Fri 26 Oct 12
will she sue the council for sexuall discrimination & equal pay?
NickBtn
says...
1:01pm Fri 26 Oct 12
And if anyone thinks that there are no efficiencies left - far from the truth! Just one would be to use email rather than post more. I've tried asking for this with various departments and they often refuse. Result: slower communication and more cost....
Zamora25
says...
1:08pm Fri 26 Oct 12
I too would have liked to have seen a lower basic with performance related element on top.
mnairb
says...
1:27pm Fri 26 Oct 12
nocando
says...
2:15pm Fri 26 Oct 12
What a racket.
Hoarder12345444
says...
2:24pm Fri 26 Oct 12
nocando wrote:Yep exactly. The salary is disgusting when there are cuts being made.
An ex quango queen, perfectly qualified to swan around wasting other peoples money. This one clearly can't keep her snout out of the trough and so we just look on at the whole unedifying spectacle. Didn't we elect councillors to run the council? If they have to pay someone else to do it for them,then perhaps we can manage without them.
What a racket.
Hoarder12345444
says...
2:26pm Fri 26 Oct 12
salty_pete
says...
3:44pm Fri 26 Oct 12
Charismatic Andrew
says...
3:47pm Fri 26 Oct 12
pwlr1966 wrote:How do you know it's a she? Perhaps she's 'gender neutral'. The photo certainly doesn't give any clues either way.
"The local authority revealed she will earn £150,000 – less than the £161,500 paid to her predecessor John Barradell "
will she sue the council for sexuall discrimination & equal pay?
Dealing with idiots
says...
3:49pm Fri 26 Oct 12
I wish her luck. Has anyone started a sweepstake at B&Hc for how long she will last?
hovelawns
says...
3:57pm Fri 26 Oct 12
Crystal Ball
says...
4:19pm Fri 26 Oct 12
She/he/it could take a pay-cut to "lead from the top" with all the cut-backs.
gusset snatcher
says...
4:33pm Fri 26 Oct 12
Hoarder12345444
says...
4:33pm Fri 26 Oct 12
Andy R
says...
5:07pm Fri 26 Oct 12
Hoarder12345444 wrote:You should hear what she says about you..!
She has to be ugliest woman I have ever seen, why doesn't she use some of her publicly earned money to get a face transplant???
PorkBoat
says...
5:09pm Fri 26 Oct 12
Hoarder12345444
says...
5:14pm Fri 26 Oct 12
Andy R wrote:I would love to know!!
Hoarder12345444 wrote:You should hear what she says about you..!
She has to be ugliest woman I have ever seen, why doesn't she use some of her publicly earned money to get a face transplant???
ruberducker
says...
5:38pm Fri 26 Oct 12
yes or no.
Morpheus
says...
5:51pm Fri 26 Oct 12
HJarrs
says...
9:15pm Fri 26 Oct 12
Zamora25 wrote:Are you for real? Which CEO of a company with a £700 million turnover doesn't get paid less than £500K?
Public sector workers are on a different planet when it comes to wages and pensions than the private sector who can only dream of the amounts these people are being paid.
I too would have liked to have seen a lower basic with performance related element on top.
ourcoalition
says...
10:20pm Fri 26 Oct 12
gusset snatcher
says...
10:23pm Fri 26 Oct 12
HJarrs wrote:The difference is a private company is accountable whereas B & H is corrupt and full of scratch my back types making an absolute mint out of ridiculous schemes, like cycle lanes i.e we' give you the £500,000 contract to do the old shoreham rd cycle lane and you give me back my expenses..... if that's not too difficult for you to understand
Zamora25 wrote:Are you for real? Which CEO of a company with a £700 million turnover doesn't get paid less than £500K?
Public sector workers are on a different planet when it comes to wages and pensions than the private sector who can only dream of the amounts these people are being paid.
I too would have liked to have seen a lower basic with performance related element on top.
Andy R
says...
11:13pm Fri 26 Oct 12
gusset snatcher wrote:In what sense is a private company accountable? I haven't noticed much "accountability" from large companies and financial institutions, whose CEO's are paid salaries which dwarf that of Ms Thompson, with mostly very little link to anything vaguely resembling success.
HJarrs wrote:The difference is a private company is accountable whereas B & H is corrupt and full of scratch my back types making an absolute mint out of ridiculous schemes, like cycle lanes i.e we' give you the £500,000 contract to do the old shoreham rd cycle lane and you give me back my expenses..... if that's not too difficult for you to understand
Zamora25 wrote:Are you for real? Which CEO of a company with a £700 million turnover doesn't get paid less than £500K?
Public sector workers are on a different planet when it comes to wages and pensions than the private sector who can only dream of the amounts these people are being paid.
I too would have liked to have seen a lower basic with performance related element on top.
Senior managers in the public sector generally get paid too much, but it's the heads of the private sector who are really on a distant planet when it comes to pay.
lordenglandofsussex
says...
11:15pm Fri 26 Oct 12
Totally unacceptable to pay anyone such a salary out of public funds but until voters wake up and protest en mass then nothing will change.
gusset snatcher
says...
11:29pm Fri 26 Oct 12
Andy R wrote:In simple terms then..... a private company is bankruptable..... B & H Council isn't...... no matter what incompetent ends up running it, dimwit
gusset snatcher wrote:In what sense is a private company accountable? I haven't noticed much "accountability
HJarrs wrote:The difference is a private company is accountable whereas B & H is corrupt and full of scratch my back types making an absolute mint out of ridiculous schemes, like cycle lanes i.e we' give you the £500,000 contract to do the old shoreham rd cycle lane and you give me back my expenses..... if that's not too difficult for you to understand
Zamora25 wrote:Are you for real? Which CEO of a company with a £700 million turnover doesn't get paid less than £500K?
Public sector workers are on a different planet when it comes to wages and pensions than the private sector who can only dream of the amounts these people are being paid.
I too would have liked to have seen a lower basic with performance related element on top.
" from large companies and financial institutions, whose CEO's are paid salaries which dwarf that of Ms Thompson, with mostly very little link to anything vaguely resembling success.
Senior managers in the public sector generally get paid too much, but it's the heads of the private sector who are really on a distant planet when it comes to pay.
funkyyoyo
says...
12:45am Sat 27 Oct 12
funkyyoyo
says...
12:49am Sat 27 Oct 12
Andy R wrote:id love to hear what shes got to say about the illegally marked parking bays around us. its been like that for at least 7 years! and there unenforcable you bunch of useless morons
Hoarder12345444 wrote: She has to be ugliest woman I have ever seen, why doesn't she use some of her publicly earned money to get a face transplant???You should hear what she says about you..!
redwing
says...
11:06am Sat 27 Oct 12
Inflated salaries at the top of the tree in the public sector don't match those in the private. In any case those public sector salaries are influenced by the private sector, as they are competing for similar people.The top people are very good at scratching eachother's backs at every opportunity too, thus these inflated salaries of the privileged carry on relentlessly.
I blame the entitlement culture myself.
Tax 'em (a lot more).
Tailgaters Anonymous says...
12:39pm Fri 26 Oct 12
No doubt the range of responsibilities shouldered by said individual - local government runs on a raft of regulations meaning little call for initiative/risk-taki
ng.
Real responsibility? - answers on a postcard!