Newham Mayor Paid £10K By Olympic Organisers in 2011
Today the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) published its financial report and accounts for 2010-11, which includes details of directors' remuneration.
It comes as a surprise to find, on page 69 of the report [PDF], that one elected public official who sits as a non-executive director - Newham's Mayor Sir Robin Wales - was paid £10,000 by LOCOG in 2011 and £7000 in 2010. This is on top of an inflation-busting 4% pay rise from Newham council in 2010, which took his Mayor's salary to £81,029 a year.
Intriguingly, the accounts indicate that Stephen Lovegrove, a senior civil servant within the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, "does not draw a fee for his services as a Non-executive Director given the nature of his role within the UK Government". I had always assumed that Sir Robin's role within local government, representing one of the Olympic host boroughs, would mean the same. But presumably LOCOG pays for his dynamic communication and interpersonal skills, not for the fact that he has final say on a huge range of council decisions that impact on the organisation of next year's Games.
If you're thinking this may throw up potential conflicts of interest, then don't worry - Sir Robin chairs LOCOG's Remuneration Committee and I'm sure he knows what he is doing...
POSTSCRIPT
The FT reports that LOCOG chief executive Paul Deighton has decided to donate his £220,000 performance and loyalty bonus to charity. As Sir Robin already has a full-time job working as the elected Mayor of Newham, perhaps he might consider donating his £10K towards, say, the youth projects that have been cut in the borough?
It comes as a surprise to find, on page 69 of the report [PDF], that one elected public official who sits as a non-executive director - Newham's Mayor Sir Robin Wales - was paid £10,000 by LOCOG in 2011 and £7000 in 2010. This is on top of an inflation-busting 4% pay rise from Newham council in 2010, which took his Mayor's salary to £81,029 a year.
Intriguingly, the accounts indicate that Stephen Lovegrove, a senior civil servant within the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, "does not draw a fee for his services as a Non-executive Director given the nature of his role within the UK Government". I had always assumed that Sir Robin's role within local government, representing one of the Olympic host boroughs, would mean the same. But presumably LOCOG pays for his dynamic communication and interpersonal skills, not for the fact that he has final say on a huge range of council decisions that impact on the organisation of next year's Games.
If you're thinking this may throw up potential conflicts of interest, then don't worry - Sir Robin chairs LOCOG's Remuneration Committee and I'm sure he knows what he is doing...
POSTSCRIPT
The FT reports that LOCOG chief executive Paul Deighton has decided to donate his £220,000 performance and loyalty bonus to charity. As Sir Robin already has a full-time job working as the elected Mayor of Newham, perhaps he might consider donating his £10K towards, say, the youth projects that have been cut in the borough?
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Newham Council's Code of Conduct says "Members should not place themselves in situations where their honesty and integrity may be questioned. Members should not behave improperly and should on all occasions avoid the appearance of such behaviour". It also says that a councillor must not use his position improperly to secure for himself an advantage. If anyone thinks that the Code of Conduct has been breached they are able to make a complaint.
Sir Robin is paid £81,000 a year to be the FULL-TIME mayor of Newham.
Either he is short-changing us by doing outside work or, if his role on the LOCOG board is to the benefit of Newham people, he is being paid twice for doing the same job.
Being the generous sort, I think the latter is the case. The £10,000 fee should either be waived or paid to Newham.
Ten grand? A mere pittance when you consider the £357,000 paid to Lord Coe.
Interesting to note that the Tory aresehole and our own Little Lord Wales have aquired the same smug and self satisfied smile that must come from the satisfaction of knowing that they've well and truly shafted the poor folks of East London.
Anonymous,
Lord Coe may be paid a lot more, but it is his full-time (and only) job.
Sir Robin got his 'fee' for attending 11 meetings (9 of the board and 2 of the remuneration committee).
Gilberdyke,
Thank you for the heads-up on the code of conduct - it's certainly worth considering.
It seems to me that as Sir Robin is only on the LOCOG board because he is the mayor he *has* secured an advantage for himself (the £10k fee) on the basis of his position. No-one would seriously suggest that he would be on the Board otherwise, would they? His minor commercial experience at BT prior to running Newham would hardly qualify him.
macuser_e7,
Lord Coe has demonstrated an astonishing ability to turn over a quick buck as a result of his involvement with the Olympics.
Check out his directorships, consultancies and personal business interests and you get a clear idea of the man's number one interest.
He's a wonderful example of the so-called Olympic spirit. Seb Coe has been living off the state all his life and unlike those individuals claiming state benefit he's managed to aquire a pretty lavish lifestyle.
But then scum always rises to the top, doesn't it?
or perhaps the Sheriff of Newham should donote the amount to the fund for the leisure centre he has just decided to close down.... hmmmmmm, on second thoughts maybe that would be a conflict of interest too.... giving the people of Newham something they actually wanted?
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