Ministers have scrapped Localism Bill proposals requiring England’s 11 largest city councils to appoint shadow mayors, but added provisions forcing councils to publish comprehensive pay policies.
Under the controversial plans, shadow mayors were to have been appointed in cities such as Liverpool, Newcastle and Bradford, in advance of local referendums to decide if council leaders should become executive mayors. Baroness Hanham insisted that although the concepts of mayors serving as chief executives and shadow mayors had been deleted from the Bill, councils remained free to follow the lead set by Leicester City Council in axing the post of chief executive and choosing a city mayor.
A referendum on elected mayors will still be held on 3 May next year in Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Coventry, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle Nottingham, Leeds, Sheffield and Wakefield. Ministers have also laid an amendment to the Bill enacting measures outlined in Will Hutton’s Fair pay report affecting both senior salaries and the remuneration of the lowest-paid.
New provisions will require full council approval and publication of a pay policy statement covering both the highest and lowest paid employees.
