The Appointments & Disciplinary Committee of Croydon Council met on Thursday, 21 November 2024, to appoint a new Director of Housing, New Build & Estate Regeneration. The committee resolved to approve the salary package for the new role and to proceed with the selection process for the appointment.

Appointment to the post of Director of Housing, New Build & Estate Regeneration

The committee resolved to approve the salary package for the newly created post of Director of Housing, New Build & Estate Regeneration. The role will command a salary of between £115,000 and £119,564, with an additional special allowance of up to £5,436 per year, bringing the total annual remuneration to a maximum of £125,000. This decision was made following a report that highlighted the need for a special occupational scarcity allowance, determined through benchmarking against London council pay databases and market knowledge.

Dean Shoesmith, Chief People Officer, and Susmita Sen, Corporate Director of Housing, presented the report, explaining that the new Director would be crucial in developing Croydon's new housing supply by working with developers, housing partners, government, and agencies to meet the borough's housing targets. Councillor Stuart King, Leader of the Opposition, inquired about the decision-making process for the Council's Pay Policy Statement and the Market Supplement Policy. Dean Shoesmith clarified that while Full Council would consider the Pay Policy Statement, the decision regarding the Market Supplement Policy and the Special Occupational Scarcity Allowance had already been made by the Chief Executive under delegated authority.

The committee also agreed to undertake the selection process and make an appointment to the Director of Housing, New Build & Estate Regeneration post from candidates detailed in an exempt appendix. Any appointment will be subject to the Council's Constitution regarding staff employment procedure rules. The committee noted that the Chief Executive had amended the Market Supplement Policy to include provision for a special occupational scarcity allowance, and that Full Council would be informed of the variation and updating of the Pay Policy Statement 2024/25 to reflect this provision.

Following the discussion of this item, the press and public were excluded from the remainder of the meeting to consider exempt information related to the appointment process.