Joanne Roney, the managing director of Birmingham City Council, received a total of £397,097 in salary and pension contributions last year, making her the best-paid local authority boss in the country. Her basic salary was £312,149, with the employer's pension contribution adding £84,947.
For comparison, the Prime Minister receives a salary of £169,344, and the head of the civil service earns around £220,000. Roney, who was born to a working-class family in Birmingham and started as a young apprentice in the council's housing department, was not the only high earner.
Seven executives each earned more than £235,000
According to the council's annual accounts, seven other city council executives each received more than £235,000. The total bill for the ten top executives at the local authority reached £2.65 million.
Despite their credentials as 'best in their fields' and reported improvements in how the council operates, the executive team is still not trusted by the Government to run affairs on their own. Commissioners sent in three years ago are set to stay in charge until 2028.
Commissioners remain despite 'good cause for some hope'
The commissioners are staying put despite acknowledging that there is 'good cause for some hope' about the council getting back on track after years of failure. The contributions of the executive team have been credited for much of the improvement. However, taxpayers in the city will continue to foot the bill for their fees and expenses. Last year, the commissioners received £964,364 between them, with some individual commissioners earning more than £20,000 in certain months.
The city council remains under the oversight of seven external commissioners after the then Conservative Government stepped in following the council's declaration of de facto bankruptcy in 2023. An equal pay crisis, a catastrophic IT implementation, failed investment projects, and rising costs for housing and social care all contributed to its financial failings.
Council defends senior pay as 'best value'
Roney and several of the current executive team were appointed after the intervention and have been credited with putting the council on the road to recovery. However, in a recent assurance plan by lead commissioner Tony McArdle, dated January 2026, he made clear the commissioners intend to remain until 2028, as the council was not yet ready to take the reins on its own.
The report stated that commissioners now have 'good cause for some hope' and that the council's work to improve has been 'purposeful and well-directed', adding: "Change, for the better, is taking place." But hopes inside the council that McArdle would say commissioners would leave earlier than intended, as indicated by his predecessor Max Caller a year earlier, were scuppered.
All of the payouts to senior staff and commissioners have been justified by the council as meeting its 'best value' commitments to taxpayers. In a statement, the council said: "The senior leadership team comprises the most senior non-political posts in our organisation, with the oversight of hundreds of essential services for the 1.2 million residents of Birmingham."
"There are processes in place that set out the framework for senior salary levels and that ensure value for money, but it is important that we are able to recruit and retain experienced experts to implement policy and oversee performance across a range of vital services. The size and scale of the council's operations mean it is not directly comparable with other councils regionally, or the vast majority of councils nationally, so figures may often be higher."
The council is the biggest unitary local authority in the country and has a budget of more than £4 billion.
Full list of payouts for 2025-26
The council's biggest earners in 2025-26, based on the draft annual accounts, include Joanne Roney, Managing Director, with £312,149 salary and £84,905 in pension contributions, total £397,097. Richard Brooks, former Director of Strategy, Equalities and Partnerships, who left in March, received £196,155 in salary, £99,289 as a 'compensation for loss of office' payment, and £40,484 in pension contributions, total £336,428.
Carol Culley, executive director of Finance and Section 151 Officer, received £227,427 salary and £64,218 in pension contributions, total £291,645. Sue Harrison, former Executive Director of Children and Families, who last worked in January but remained on the payroll until her departure in June, received £208,057 salary and £56,592 in pension contributions, total £264,648.
Paul Langford, executive director of City Housing, received £205,600 salary and £55,923 in pension contributions, total £261,523. Stuart Lackenby, executive director, Adult Social Care and Health, received £196,080 salary and £53,334 in pension contributions, total £249,414.
Katy Fox, executive director, human resources, organisational development and transformation, received £185,115 salary and £50,351 in pension contributions, total £235,466. Rishi Shori, deputy chief executive and executive director for strategy, insight and governance, received £185,115 salary and £50,351 in pension contributions, total £235,466.
Richard Lawrence, executive director, Place, Prosperity and Sustainability, who joined part way through the year, received £173,050 salary and £23,506 in pension contributions, total £196,556. Craig Cooper, former Strategic Director, City Operations, who left early in the year, received £48,763 salary. Frank Jordan, new executive director of City Operations, who joined in March, received £21,250 salary.
An unnamed acting director of Public Health received £19,051 salary and £4,670 in pension contributions, total £23,721. Sally Burns, director of Public Health, appointed in May 2025, received £127,779 salary and £34,756 in pension contributions, total £162,535. Anthony Cox, Director of Law and Governance (Monitoring Officer), appointed in June 2025, received £129,803 salary and £35,306 in pension contributions, total £165,109.
The seven commissioners are Tony McArdle, who receives £1,200 a day, and Jackie Belton, John Biggs, Myron Hrycyk, Christopher Tambini, Pam Parkes and John Coughlan, who each receive £1,100 a day. Together they received £964,364 in fees and expenses over 12 months, an average of £137,766 each. The council has reached out to managing director Joanne Roney and lead commissioner Tony McArdle for interviews, so far without success.
