South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority's interim chief exec has cost more than £500,000

Invoices disclosed following Freedom Of Information requests show the authority (SYMCA) has paid £544,375 for the services of Martin Swales from 1 July 2022, when he took up the post, to the end of June this year.

SYMCA pays a day rate of £1,250 through a contract with recruitment agency GatenbySanderson which has been repeatedly extended after Mr Swales was appointed on an interim basis. The deal currently runs to the end of March next year – nearly three years after the interim arrangement began.

Payments under the contract totalled £272,500 in the first year and £271,875 in the 12 months to the end of June this year.

In a statement, SYMCA defended the deal, saying it “has taken an ambitious approach to development and growth, and in pursuit of those goals have sought to appoint the best available people to senior roles within the organisation.”

The authority said the overall cost of employing its interim chief executive is “directly comparable to the costs of Chief Executives in other combined and peer authorities nationally when the costs of their pensions and other benefits are included.”

An FOI response also highlighted the daily rate of £1,250 has not been adjusted for inflation since the arrangement began in 2022.

The chief executive at SYMCA’s nearest peer combined authority, neighbouring West Yorkshire, is paid a basic salary of £193,000.

The amount received by Ben Still at West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) does not include employer ‘on costs’ of pension and National Insurance contributions but those additional costs are unlikely to bridge the near £80,000 gap in payments made annually by SYMCA for its chief executive.

WYCA is also a larger organisation and responsible for a larger budget.

The nascent York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, which began operating earlier this year, pays a basic salary of £124,656 to its chief executive, James Farrar.

The amount paid until the interim deal is also nearly £100,000 more than the £179,823 basic salary paid to SYMCA's previous chief executive Dave Smith, according to the 2021/22 accounts.

Mr Smith did not receive any employer pension contribution but even if he had, additional costs, including employer National Insurance contributions, would not have accounted for the near six-figure difference.

In June, SYMCA extended the interim deal to 31 March 2025 with the authority’s board also agreeing to approve the commencement of the recruitment process for a permanent appointment “at the appropriate time.”

It is not entirely clear why the interim arrangement has continued for so long after the original agreement was only due to run for up to 12 months from July 2022. At the time Mr Swales was appointed, SYMCA’s board minutes state the process to make a permanent appointment would begin at the same time.

SYMCA’s statement said: “As a result of the decision taken by the Government to transfer Police and Crime Commissioner functions to the Mayor a Mayoral election had to be held two years early in May this year.

This election was followed quickly by a general election. These elections have led to a delay in the process of recruiting a permanent Chief Executive which is now underway.”