Council leaders agreed a massive 75 per cent hike in staffing costs at the West of England Combined Authority (Weca) during another dysfunctional meeting. Weca committee was adjourned for 100 minutes while Labour metro mayor Dan Norris, who heads the organisation, and the leaders of Bristol, South Gloucestershire and Bath & North East Somerset councils thrashed out a deal over how money should be spent.
Mr Norris’s annual budget proposed increasing the number of Weca employees by 36 per cent, with the total wage bill going up from £9.6million to £17.6million in the 12 months from April. He said the extra officers were vital to delivering key projects, such as new railway stations, and warned that schemes would suffer delays and future funding could be jeopardised if the budget was not passed at the meeting on Friday, January 27.
Following the lengthy private talks, the politicians agreed to hold back £800,000 of the proposed £8million increase, with South Gloucestershire Council leader Conservative Cllr Toby Savage claiming victory for the rethink, saying the cash could be directed towards public services instead of “Weca’s corporate functions”. At the heart of the row is the fact that the metro mayor does not have a vote on his own budget, which needs unanimous approval from Cllr Savage, B&NES council leader Lib Dem Cllr Kevin Guy and Bristol’s Labour mayor Marvin Rees.
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Faced with opposition, Mr Norris agreed to concede 10 per cent of the staffing costs. Cllr Savage told the meeting in Thornbury: “I accept the need for additional resources to deliver the increased programme of work and to strengthen our governance as a combined authority.
“This also means needing to have the proper levels of reserves to meet the risks the combined authority is facing. However, it’s important as decision-makers that we appropriately balance the above with ensuring we spend as much as possible on delivery of schemes and getting things done for residents and supporting their needs in communities, such as buses.
“This means reducing any unnecessary spend on bureaucracy. The original budget report did not give me confidence that we had got the balance right.
“But I welcome the alteration we have been able to negotiate.” After the meeting he said Mr Norris had proposed taking on a “colossal amount of extra staff that would not be directly involved in delivering vital services”.
Cllr Savage added: “Following appeals from me and my neighbouring council colleagues, I am pleased that the Weca mayor agreed to redirect a portion of funding earmarked for recruitment to where it is needed most – frontline services like buses.” A report to the committee said grant funding to Weca had increased by 256 per cent over the last 12 months and while the number of employee posts had gone up by more than a third, this remained at 11 per cent of the authority’s total revenue budgets.
It said: “The significant increase in staffing costs reflects the significant increase in funding and delivery of projects the combined authority is now delivering. Failure to adequately resource such projects would put at risk the successful delivery of such projects and inhibit the organisations’ ability to ensure value for money.
“Resources are needed to deliver the increased programme noting the much lower increase in staffing resources required compared to programme budget increases. It is essential to recognise that the West of England Combined Authority is changing and needs to adapt to ensure that it has the skills and capacity to deliver the significant programme of work ahead.”
Mr Norris told the meeting: “We have been super successful in bringing in resources, and if you get a 256 per cent increase in your resources, you need an increase in staffing costs to get the cash out the door to build new railway stations, upskill more people and not least to tackle the climate emergency. This budget aims to deliver a step change in the delivery capability of the organisation.
“There is a relentless focus on delivery. Any delays in approving the budget today will slow delivery.
“The blunt truth is those who fail on delivery now won’t get more funding later. We will have missed the boat, so we’ve got to get on with it.”
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