West Midlands Mayor allowance recommended to rise by 20% - but Andy Street said he will reject any increase

West Midlands Combined Authority has announced that recommendations for allowances for the West Midlands Mayor Andy Street - and other combined authority members - to be increased has been made by the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP).

At the top of the list is a recommendation to increase the annual Mayoral allowance from £79,000 to £95,000 - an increase of 20%.

But Andy Street has stressed he will not accept an increase to his allowance - which has remaned at £79,000 since 2017 - whether or not the West Midlands Combined Authority Board accept the recommendation. The submissions are to be considered at a meeting next Friday (October 28).

Unison has described the recommendation as “outrageous” - stressing that the current cost of living crisis sees inflation running at over 10%.

What is the full list of IRP recommendations regarding WMCA allowance increases?

The IRP recommendations include:

• Increasing the annual Mayoral allowance from £79,000 to £95,000
• Setting up a Deputy Mayoral allowance of £31,675 backdated to May 2021
• Suggesting to constituent authorities to set an additional responsibility allowance for Portfolio Leaders of £9,500 a year
• Retaining the allowances of the chair and members of the Transport Delivery Committee (TDC), pending the Transport Governance Review
• Paying the chair of the Audit, Risk and Assurance Committee an annual allowance of £9,500
• Paying the chair of Overview and Scrutiny Committee £6,650 a year backdated to May 2021

What has the WMCA said about the Mayor’s salary in its own words?

In its announcement about the IRP recommendations, the WMCA said: “If approved by the WMCA board, the Mayor has communicated to the WMCA’s chief executive that he will not be accepting any increase in his salary and that it will remain at the same level it has been since his election in 2017.”

Has there been any comment on the recommendations to increase the Deputy Mayor’s allowance?

The Deputy Mayor, Bob Sleigh, communicated to the chief executive some time ago that while he remained in his current roles as a Solihull councillor and a Solihull Cabinet member, he would only be prepared to take a maximum of £10,000 for the additional role of Deputy Mayor.

Has the IRP asked the WMCA Board accept all of these recommendations?

WMCA said: “The Board will be recommended next Friday to accept all IRP recommendations apart from the suggestion to constituent authorities that they set an additional responsibility allowance for Portfolio Leaders of £9,500.

“The Board has instead been recommended to write to Government to request an amendment to WMCA regulations which would give the combined authority the ability to pay its members and co-opted members.”

What has Unison said about these recommendations in their own words?

Ravi Subramanian, Regional Secretary for UNISON in the West Midlands said: “We are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis with inflation running over 10%.

“It is simply outrageous that the Conservative West Midlands Metro Mayor, Andy Street will see his allowance increase by over 20% while the public sector workers who kept the country running during the pandemic are being offered below inflation pay offers, which is effectively a pay cut.

“Nurses have been offered less than 6% and UNISON will shortly be balloting them and other NHS workers about taking strike action. UNISON knows that this jaw dropping increase in the mayoral allowance will only spur on our members to vote yes to strike action.”

Has WMCA said anything else about the IRP recommendations? And who are its members?

The WMCA added: “In making its recommendations, the IRP carried out a thorough review of members allowances, including extensive interviews with key stakeholders, and looked at the allowances paid at comparative organisations across the country.”

The IRP was made up of the following members:

Professor Steve Leach – Emeritus Professor of Local Government, Department of Politics & Public Policy at De Montfort University, Leicester

Rose Poulter – Birmingham City Council Independent Remuneration Panel Chair

Sylvia Parkin – City of Wolverhampton Council and Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council Independent Remuneration Panel member

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