County Council defends move to increase Chief Executive salary to more than £200,000

Derbyshire’s Reform county council administration has defended its move to increase its chief executive salary to more than £200,000.

Derbyshire County Council’s new chief executive – to be appointed in April – will now be able to earn more than £200,000 a year if they obtain a new annual performance bonus.

This puts the role as the third highest paid county and city council chief executives in the East Midlands, should they gain their full bonus. Without it, they would be ranked ninth out of the 10 authorities in the region.

The replacement for the county council’s outgoing managing director, Emma Alexander, who is set to leave her post for Greater Manchester later this month, is now due a significant potential pay rise as part of the move.

Simon Stevens, the executive director of adult care and health, was set to be appointed the interim chief executive at a meeting held on October 8th 2025.

The leading official at the Reform-run council, when appointed, will retain the same salary of £181,018 but will now also be able to earn a £20,000 annual performance-related bonus, pushing their potential takings to £201,018.

This is a change from the role having a salary of £181,018 but having potential annual increases which would gradually increase this pay to a maximum of £197,607 over a number of years.

Meanwhile, the role will be officially renamed chief executive, to match other councils.

The changes, agreed by the appointments and conditions of service committee this week, detail that the performance-monitored bonus itself will cost £5,000 extra to track and enforce.

Councillor Alex Dale, leader of the county’s Conservative opposition group, said the change could see the authority paying the new chief executive more than £200,000 a year for several extra years, instead of the new incumbent gaining that salary over time.

He said the terms of performance related pay were not disclosed or detailed in this week’s appointments and conditions of service committee, chaired by the county council leader. 

Cllr Dale said: “DCC is a £1.2 billion organisation employing around 10,000 people. 

“It’s right that we attract and retain the brightest and best to lead the council, and that means ensuring that the role is properly remunerated.

“What is staggering, however, is the sheer hypocrisy of the Reform UK administration. 

“Only a few months ago, they were putting leaflets through every door in Derbyshire attacking the salary of the council’s most senior officer, claiming it was a waste of money and even comparing it to the Prime Minister’s pay.

“Now, having taken power, they’ve agreed to pay even more: £181,000 plus a potential £20,000 annual bonus. 

“It’s a classic case of saying one thing before an election to win votes and doing the complete opposite afterwards.

“Residents deserve honesty and consistency from their leaders. Instead, Reform have shown that their words simply can’t be trusted.”

Reform election leaflets provided Ms Alexander’s salary as an example of how the council “wastes your money”, comparing it to a higher payout than the Prime Minister.

They also pledged: “No more £200,000 salaries for incompetent bosses.”

Cllr Rob Reaney, Reform’s deputy county council leader, said: “We are legally obliged to appoint a head of service and the £20,000 performance-related pay would bring them up to what other chief executives are already being paid if they hit appropriate and fair targets. It is an incentive.

“It has been pointed out to me that this is less than they are being paid in Leicestershire as a base salary.

“We are advised that we are underpaying and that is quite a remarkable thing.

“The leaflets were generated by HQ in the election and the Doge team was very much in vogue at that point and pointing these things out for all counties. They were centrally produced.

“We have put the chief executive on the lowest pay grade for chief executives but someone down the road is on £40,000 more as basic pay.

“Are we paying too much? Possibly some members of the public would be outraged at that level of salary but the market rates are the market rates.

“We have worked within the rules as best as we can and we have offered the lowest grade.

“The salary is a very reasonable salary in this day and age.”

Cllr Reaney said the targets which the new chief executive will be graded on for their potential £20,000 bonus have not yet been decided but will be connected to the council plan.

Here are the current salaries of all the chief executives at county and city councils in the East Midlands:

• Leicestershire – £221,000
• Lincolnshire – £209,997
• Derbyshire – £201,018 (inc £20,000 bonus)
• Nottinghamshire – £200,000
• Nottingham – £191,000
• Derby – £189,922
• West Northamptonshire – £188,576
• North Northamptonshire – £185,575
• Leicester – £161,724
• Lincoln – £135,122