Assembly Member questions salaries of Welsh Housing Association Chief Executives

The Welsh Liberal Democrat Housing Spokesperson, Peter Black, has called on the Welsh Government to rationalise the pay of Housing Association Chief Executives, following the publication of salary data that shows that monies received bear no relation to responsibility.

Research from Social Housing magazine show that the amount paid to Chief Executives per unit of social housing stock varies from £11.41 per unit to £61.71. Welsh ‘traditional’ chief executives also receive the highest rate of pay per unit compared to their Scottish, English and Northern Irish counterparts at £26.54 per unit.

“I was surprised to read that the amount of pay a Housing Association Chief Executive receives can vary so greatly” said Mr Black. “It seems unfair that one Chief Executive can receive as much as £61 for every unit they manage, when others receive just over £10. There is also a lack of consistency for salary as a percentage of turnover.

“Some Chief Executives have considerable responsibility, yet there seems to be no correlation between how much responsibility a Chief Executive has and their pay. I have written to the Deputy Minister to urge her to look into how the regulation of Housing Associations ensures that pay at the highest level reflects responsibility and the number of units managed.

NB - NPT Homes, the mutual organisation set up to take ownership of and manage council housing in Neath Port Talbot, appointed Linda Whittaker, the former Director of Housing at the Welsh Assembly Government as chief executive in July 2010. Her salary was not published. Ms Whittaker is also a member of the board of RCT Homes, the equivalent body in Rhondda Cynon Taf.