THE LABOUR leadership of Warrington Borough Council has asked their own chief executive to decline a £7,105 pay rise.
Council leader Terry O’Neill and his deputy, Cllr Mike Hannon made the request at a meeting with chief executive 
Diana Terris (right)
They also expressed concern about pay rises “unacceptable in the current climate” to other senior management staff, including environment and regeneration director Andy Farrall, (left, below) who received a £9,985 increase.
Cllr O’Neill said: “We have just learned of the significant pay awards that were granted to senior council officers last year, with the approval of the previous Lib Dem / Tory administration. Although we recognise that these pay settlements were part of a national agreement, they have been revealed at a time when the council is facing such hard times.”
Cllr Hannon said: “As a result of the massive budget cuts imposed by the coalition government, this council is facing up to some difficult decisions about redundancies and staff terms and conditions going forward. We have enjoyed constructive dialogue with the trade unions and for their part, they have been open-minded about the potential solutions in these difficult times. It is politically insensitive and simply unacceptable that senior managers should have received such awards when there have been redundancies and other staff in the council are being asked to make sacrifices.
“Councillors have refused to accept the panel recommendations on their allowances for the last three years and have agreed for them to be frozen. This was the right thing to do with the national economic climate. We met with the chief executive today to discuss the senior salary position. We have invited her to decline this salary increase as an indication of her commitment to this authority and in recognition of the position that many of her staff are facing.”
The increases were awarded when the previous Liberal Democrat/Conservative coalition were in control of the council, although they were part of a national agreement.
Some Town Hall insiders believe the request is part of a plan by the Labour administration to persuade senior officers appointed by the Liberal Democrat-Conservative coalition during its five-year period in control, to move on.
Mrs Terris has issued a statement refuting claims that council senior management had been awarded big pay rises.
She said: “The change in my overall package was down to back pay dating back over several years, as a result of the senior management salary reviews which formed part of the job evaluation/pay and grading review that everyone in the council went through.
“All workers in the public sector face another year of pay freezes and financial pressures so it is right and proper that all aspects of public sector expenditure are scrutinised. “
Cllr Ian Marks, leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition and former council leader, said figures in the council’s 
statement of accounts, suggesting that some senior executive obtain cost of living salary increases between 2009/10 and 2010/ll were misleading.
He said: “All councils were required to conduct pay reviews as part of the national single status agreement. We carried out ours in 2009 when the Labour Government was in power.
“This covered everyone’s pay from the most senior person in the organisation to the most junior. Periodic reviews of this nature are normal in private sector organisations too and are needed to ensure pay scales do not get out of line as organisations and responsibilities change.
“Some people gain, some stay the same and some lose out. The national agreement allows for backdating and this was paid last August and is referred to in the accounts. There has been no cost of living increase since April 2010.
“The topic of senior executives’ pay in both the public and private sectors is very much in the news at present. The timing of the publication of the accounts is unfortunate, coming at a time when all council directorates are going through fundamental reviews and people’s jobs are at stake. But it is important to understand that the pay review was completed before the round of budget savings got underway.
“It would seem sensible in the current climate to look at senior management salaries as part of the new budget round which will start soon.”
Council chief asked to decline pay rise
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Gary Skentelbery
Experienced journalist for more than 40 years. Managing Director of magazine publishing group with three in-house titles and on-line daily newspaper for Warrington. Experienced writer, photographer, PR consultant and media expert having written for local, regional and national newspapers. Specialties: PR, media, social networking, photographer, networking, advertising, sales, media crisis management. Chair of Warrington Healthwatch Director Warrington Chamber of Commerce Patron Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace. Trustee Warrington Disability Partnership. Former Chairman of Warrington Town FC.
18 Comments
This item should be bookmarked and referred back to when the councillors vote themselves the usual increase in allowances.
I don’t particularly like having to stick up for councillors, but in fact they have not accepted an increase in allowances for the last three years
well done Terry Oneil. You would have thought it would be a no brainer for Farrall & Terris, especially after the destruction of records scandal, which they appear, on the face of it, decided to cover up in 2006, instead of comming clean at the time.
I understand that there has been no increase in allowances for councillors. From what I can tell it has been at the current level for a couple of years. After PAYE deductions it looks as though they will get about £500 per month. Maybe it is only reviewed every few years, so maybe it will be increased at the next review. Must admit that at £500 per month it doesn’t seem as though they are living on the fat of the land.
Emanon beat me to a reply, and I bow to his greater knowledge on the matter.
Were either of them working for the council in 2006?
SO LONG AS IT’S FAR ACROSS THE BOARD – SO CLLR O’NEILL ARE YOU GOING TO REDUCE YOUR EXPENSES?????? IN THREE YEARS YOU HAVE TOPPED OVER £20,000
How much do Cllrs Hannon and Hannon take home then ? Worth checking out Cllr O’Neill’s expenses over the past few years – in comparison to the rest of WBC Councillors
What the hell has Clrs expenses got to do with it? This is about senior officers getting big lumps of pay when they are making redundancies across the board. How would you feel as a lower staff member cutting pay, hours or conditions and seeing the bigwigs getting more?
Hacked off
in 2006 the plans were destroyed and as I understand it, the chief exec, the equivalent of Andy Farrall & the equivalent of John Groves, left, I understand all at once. Therefore the new chief exec, Diana T, Andy Farrall & John Groves took over. John Groves is already on the record as saying he knew about the destruction of records, but did not feel comfortable, but did not feel he could say anythign to senior officers, so therefore he knew the plans had been destroyed. Therefore in 2006, either John Groves, kept it to himself and continued to give advice throughout the 2007 – 2011 complaint & enquiry, into the Twiss Green scandal, or more likely all 3 knew about it? and decided not to go public? Does that answer the question, lookinginfromafar?
The other important point to consider, apart from them being in office in 2006, is did they later raise the alarm with the Monitoring Officer and our elected members as soon as they became aware statutory documents had been destroyed? It would seem from what has so far emerged, they did know the documents had been destroyed, contrary to the Council’s statutory and their own internal obligations, and decided to keep quiet about it. Thus creating the potential for the Council to be open to an additional legal challenge.
Cllr Hannon said: “………… It is politically insensitive and simply unacceptable that senior managers should have received such awards when there have been redundancies and other staff in the council are being asked to make sacrifices.” I think most people would agree with that comment but would also add….’When competent staff are being made redundant it is simply unacceptable for officers such as Dianna Terris, Andrew Farrell and John Groves, after making such gross blunders, to be paid any salary at all!
well said Sha!
I was one of many who lost theirWBC jobs and home etc with the cutbacks – how ‘lovely’ senior management aren’t sufferring in the same way!
Exactly – I know others in the same position, this pay could have secured somebody else’s job!
And just what is Marks blithering on about now? The budget savings have been going on for the last 3 years. Does he really think that we are that stupid not to know that he agreed these settlements at the same time? Yet another failure for Marks – when is he going to be jettisoned by the Lib Dems?
you’ll need a big calculator for them both