Town Hall Rich List 2023: Manchester City Council chiefs included in list of top earners according to report

The chief executive of Manchester City Council is the highest-paid employee at the town hall and in local government across the North West, a new report says.

Joanne Roney, who has the top officer’s job at the town hall, is included in the ‘Town Hall Rich List 2023’ report compiled by political pressure group the TaxPayers’ Alliance.

Altogether more than 20 civil servants at the council are paid more than £100,000, with Ms Roney being one of two named in the report. The council said its chief executive’s pay is reflective of the demands of running a large city council and compares favourably with the same role at other similar local authorities.

What does the report say?

The Town Hall Rich List 2023 puts together the highest earners in local authorities across the country after compiling lists of people working for town halls who are earning more than £100,000.

The latest report, covering the 2021-22 financial year, includes Manchester City Council chief executive Joanne Roney in its top 20 high earners’ list, with remuneration of £250,727. That makes her the 18th highest-paid council employee in the country and the top earner in the North West.

The report says Manchester had 23 employees receiving remuneration of more than £100,000 in 2021-22, the largest number of any North West council.

The dataset accompanying the report shows Ms Roney is one of two employees named in the high earners’ list. The other was deputy chief executive and city treasurer Carol Culley, who received £189,086 in total remuneration. Other unnamed high earners at the council include a city solicitor, directors of the departments responsible for areas such as adult services and social care, children’s services and education.

It should be noted that the dataset and the report include two different remuneration figures, one giving the salary and the other total remuneration including pension contributions. The final figure could also include areas such as expenses, bonuses and redundancy payments.

Ms Roney’s salary in 2021-22 was £211,584 while Ms Culley’s was £159,566. This is in line with the figures on senior salaries published on Manchester City Council’s own website.

What has Manchester City Council said about its top salaries?

A Manchester City Council spokesperson said: “Manchester is one of the largest councils in the UK and the region represents the largest engine of economic growth outside of London.

“The rate of pay of our senior officers - including chief executive - is commensurate with similar-sized councils in the UK and their remuneration is consistent with their level of skill, expertise and level of responsibility, as would be expected of any responsible employer.

“The council’s staff structure and the amount all staff are paid is constantly monitored to ensure that it is both appropriate and delivers the results the city needs. The council is also wholly transparent about senior officer pay and these figures are published on the council’s website.”