Tracy Brabin's mayoral authority to add new managers at cost of up to £250,000

A report going to the annual meeting of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority this Thursday reveals a proposed management shake-up at the organisation, which has been chaired by the mayor since she was elected in May 2021.

Under the planned changes, due to cost up to £250,000, the current structure of seven directors reporting to one managing director will be changed so there is a chief executive officer with a chief operating officer and an executive director of transport in a middle layer of management above seven directors.

The report, written by Business Improvement Manager Alice Rowland, says: “The continued growth of the organisation due to the mayoral devolution deal means that a more comprehensive review of the senior structure and operating model has been undertaken to ensure the organisation is best structured for the next five-plus years, with the flexibility to accommodate further growth, and be agile to changing needs.”

The report said that following a review by independent adviser Deloitte of the current structure, “the fundamental change is a proposed shift away from the current ‘process’ based model towards an ‘outcome/mission’ based model, giving greater transparency of senior accountability across key areas and a greater read across from job roles to key performance outcomes for West Yorkshire”.

It states: “The significant increase in funding which is now passing through the organisation further evidences the need for change.”

It said the gross revenue budget for 2022/23 is £232m and the indicative capital budget at £288m.

“Since then, further funding has been secured for the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) of £830m (around £400m is new money), Bus Service Improvement Plan of £70m and allocations for UK Shared Prosperity Fund have been announced and it is expected that the capital programme will increase as project pipelines are progressed and further funding released from the Single Investment Fund to deliver approved programmes.

“Considered together this is more than double the funding that was coming to the Combined Authority when it was first formed in 2014. This significant increase in funding has not, to date, been met with any reflective increase in resourcing or the right structures to ensure the organisation can continue to operate in an efficient way that drives delivery.”

It adds: “In addition to the increase in funding, the breadth and diversification of organisational remit and responsibility away from a core focus on transport and into new areas such as culture, policing etc. means that the organisational structure needs to evolve to ensure there is parity of senior accountability across all areas of work.”

The report adds that the changes will require extra spending.

It states: “The proposals outlined will increase the total costs of the senior management structure. The rationale for these changes is set out throughout this paper. However, until all the role profiles are developed and evaluated it will not be possible to confirm the full costs of this proposal, and this detail will be brought to future meetings, but it is expected to not exceed £250,000.

“Additional funding to meet these costs will need to be identified from the funding received through recent awards including CRSTS and any revenue opportunities identified and will be built into the medium-term financial strategy being developed.”

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