By John Knox
I was astonished to see a job advert for my local council. I thought they were cutting staff, not taking people on. But I was to be more amazed when I read that the salary on offer was £132,000 a year. Who could this superstar be? Why the “director of corporate governance” of course!
We are talking about Edinburgh City Council, which has just hired a new chief executive, Sue Bruce, at £160,000 a year. You would think she could do a bit of “corporate governance ” for that sort of money. But no, she obviously needs some assistance.
This new director will, in the words of the advert, “drive corporate strategy and steer the council’s decisions to ensure high quality outcomes for all service users”. We are told this is a demanding post which will need an exceptional individual “who has successfully delivered major change to bring about business transformation”. Well, well, well. This is clearly a job for one of Lord Sugar’s apprentices. He or she will be the enforcer of those “alternative business models” we keep hearing about.
Well, if this is a game of hardball, can I ask why the salary needs to be so high? Couldn’t someone on £50,000 do an equally good job? And what has happened to the Liberal Democrat led administration’s policy of cutting top salaries?
The council says the new director will replace two old chaps who have just retired, Jim Inch, the corporate services director, and Donald McGougan, the director of finance. They were both earning £120,000 a year, so although the council will save money, it is still increasing its top salaries. Mrs Bruce herself is on an increased salary. Her predecessor, Tom Aitchison, was paid £158,000 a year. He went on to receive a pay-off of £210,000, plus an annual pension of £73,000.
I don’t mean to be unkind, but are these people really worth all this public money?
I’ve never found top executives to be exceptional in any way. They are usually good enough at their jobs, often well qualified, personably people, sincere, but no more impressive than an average teacher or social worker. They just happen to be in administration rather than in the front line.
There are over 300 people employed by Edinburgh City Council on salaries of over £50,000 a year, twice the average wage. And this is not unusual in the public sector across Scotland. There are over 3,000 public sector workers on more than £100,000 a year. And councils are not the most profligate. Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Water, the health boards and universities are even more generous, with top salaries of over £200,000.
It’s not as if we can be sure we are getting value for money. Even if these institutions are doing well, it is not only the top managers who are producing the results. And high salaries don’t always avoid disaster. Edinburgh is currently regretting paying its tram executives salaries of over £120,000.
Somehow, we have allowed a culture of affluence to develop in the top tier of our public services. Like MPs expenses and bankers bonuses, it’s a sign of detachment from reality, a them-and-us attitude, which we thought we had got rid of in the public services when we gave up believing in the Divine Right of Kings.
I wonder why it is so hard to break away from this bureaucratic tradition? The Christie Commission on the public services is another example. After six months of deliberations, it has turned in a report which is a bullet-pointed statement of the obvious, followed by no specific recommendations and no mention of high salaries.
So, let’s be bold. I suggest to Edinburgh City Council that it re-advertises the post of director of corporate governance at a salary of £50,000 and see who applies. Lots of high quality young people, I would guess, with management degrees, ambition and commitment to public service. And with the good sense to change that ridiculous title.
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