Forum Topic

Where is Martin Smith?

Two months ago Ealing Council trumpeted the appointment of Martin Smith as the new Ealing Council Chief Executive. He replaced the somewhat invisible Darra Singh who went to the Job Centre for a new job.Has anyone seen Martin Smith? Has anyone heard him speak? Do we know what his views and aspirations are for Ealing? What does he think about the Glenkerrin Arcadia decision? At an annual salary of over £170,000, it's not unreasonable to expect to see him and hear him in the Ealing public domain.Any clues anyone?

Eric Alan Leach ● 6127d6 Comments

£170,000. Are you sure. That is obscene. The PM only gets £127,000

David Archer ● 6126d

http://www.lgcplus.com/people/smith-appointed-to-succeed-singh-at-ealing/5007617.articleshows the salary band - £167 000 to £178 000.Perhaps fining residents for placing litter on footpaths will cover the salary and other costs incurred on this appointment without increasing Council Tax.Let's hope he has passed the residency, work permit and CRB checks. We wouldn't want a scandal like that here, would we?

Alan Brainsby ● 6126d

Most of our chiefs can get bonuses of up to 20% as well. The staff got 1% salary rise.I think public servants on this scale should tell us about the goals which they achieve.I also think these chief exec salaries should be approved by parliament.

George Knox ● 6126d

And of course the overall cost is even higher - employers' national insurance, pension contribution, life insurance, among others. Then there's the possibility of a golden goodbye...I thought one of the reasons for immigration was to get the same job done much cheaper by a foreigner. What went wrong?

Alan Brainsby ● 6125d

Why be concerned over £170,000 for a salary when our council gave away £6 million-like todays government-money no object-JJ

John Jones ● 6123d

Re  I also think these chief exec salaries should be approved by parliament.          xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx    I think they should be approved by the local voters, ie you and me by means of a local referendum.  Salaries of this magnitude are not justified by the work they supposedly do. In fact, I don't know what they do do. The previous one was appointed by this Govt. to head up at the same time the Commission for Social Cohesion and Integration.

Tony Price ● 6123d