Taxpayers’ Alliance – Town Hall Rich List 2022 – Croydon Council

Croydon adding insult to taxpayer injury with the highest paid executive, and once again leading the list of local boroughs with executives paid over £100K, according to report.

The TaxPayers’ Alliance have issued their 2022 Town Hall Rich List of council employees in the UK in receipt of over £100,000 in total remuneration. The list covers the financial year 2020-21, covering the period since residents have seen services cut following the issuing of a Section 114 notice, when the council declared de facto bankruptcy. It’s not hard to see why the council ended up in this position when despite years of complaining about a lack of funding, and years of maximum council tax increases, Croydon Council had 29 staff earning over £100,000 a year (up from 19 the previous year), and with the former chief executive, Jo Negrini, receiving the highest remuneration of any council employee in the country at £613,895, which included a loss of office payment of £144,356 and a pension strain payment of £292,851.

To put the overall Croydon figures into context, neighbouring Sutton had just 14 staff whose remuneration exceeded £100,000. Merton 12, Tandridge 1, and Reigate & Banstead 1. Whilst our inner London neighbours Lambeth 27 staff and Lewisham 19 (both fewer than Croydon), Barnet a similar sized borough made do with just 8 staff on over £100K. Some of the numbers for Croydon indicate the high turnover of staff, but surely during a period of front-line staff losing their roles, and lost services for the public, something and certainly more should have been done to control executive pay.

When we reviewed the TaxPayers’ Alliance Town Hall Rich List for 2021, we asked how when private sector organisations often benchmark salaries against other similar organisations the council clearly did not. Within the council, schools are required to benchmark themselves on a range of financial measures against other similar schools. When the council requires emergency government funding, and undertakes a fire sale of assets like the Croydon Park Hotel sold at a £5 million loss, how is it possible for the council to be so blind to the pay of its own executives?

With a crumbling town centre, Purley Swimming Pool closed, libraries’ opening days reduced, rent increases, Council Tax increases, damning audit reports, and some council tenants living in squalor, how can it be acceptable that at £613,895 Croydon Council’s former chief executive Jo Negrini, received the highest remuneration of any council employee in the country?

With local elections in May, we ask Croydon residents to ask those seeking re-election, how they can justify their council tax payments being spent this way, and how with this track record of oversight they can justify being returned to office?

Croydon Council Pay over £100,000, 2020-21:

Name	Job title	Salary	Loss of office	Pension strain payments	Sub total	Pension	Total
Jo Negrini	Chief executive	£151,474	£144,356	£292,851	£588,681	£25,214	£613,895
	Undisclosed	£207,500			£207,500		£207,500
Lisa Taylor	Finance, investment and risk and interim s151 officer	£162,134			£162,134	£39,968	£202,102
Shifa Mustafa	Executive director, place	£156,060			£156,060	£40,888	£196,948
Jacquline Harris-Baker	Executive director of resources and monitoring officer	£156,060			£156,060	£40,888	£196,948
	Undisclosed	£192,500			£192,500		£192,500
Guy van Dichele	Executive director (interim) of health, wellbeing & adults	£150,411			£150,411	£36,505	£186,916
Hazel Simmonds	Executive director of gateway, strategy & engagement	£137,700			£137,700	£36,077	£173,777
	Undisclosed	£147,500			£147,500		£147,500
	Undisclosed	£137,500			£137,500		£137,500
	Undisclosed	£137,500			£137,500		£137,500
	Undisclosed	£137,500			£137,500		£137,500
	Undisclosed	£137,500			£137,500		£137,500
Katherine Kerswell	Chief executive	£105,326			£105,326	£27,595	£132,921
	Undisclosed	£132,500			£132,500		£132,500
	Undisclosed	£127,500			£127,500		£127,500
	Undisclosed	£117,500			£117,500		£117,500
	Undisclosed	£117,500			£117,500		£117,500
	Undisclosed	£117,500			£117,500		£117,500
	Undisclosed	£117,500			£117,500		£117,500
	Undisclosed	£117,500			£117,500		£117,500
	Undisclosed	£117,500			£117,500		£117,500
	Undisclosed	£117,500			£117,500		£117,500
	Undisclosed	£117,500			£117,500		£117,500
	Undisclosed	£112,500			£112,500		£112,500
	Undisclosed	£107,500			£107,500		£107,500
	Undisclosed	£107,500			£107,500		£107,500
	Undisclosed	£102,500			£102,500		£102,500
	Undisclosed	£102,500			£102,500		£102,500