The number of colleges which paid out at least £200,000 in salaries to their principals has increased significantly, according to new college accounts data published by the government this morning.
According to the data, 17 colleges paid more than £200k in principal salary alone in 2016-17, compared to 12 in 2015-16 and eight in 2014-15.
Because of ongoing mergers and restructuring exercises across the country, accounts data can include pay for more than one post holder.
The salary figure does not include any benefits in kind or pension contribution, with a number of colleges paying over £300,000 in total for their principal in 2016-17.
Principal pay
North Hertfordshire College paid the most in principal salary, with £294,000 for then principal Matt Hamnett.
This was followed by Greater Brighton Metropolitan College, which is listed in the accounts as having paid out £291,000 in salary.
The college was created in spring 2017 from the merger of City College Brighton and Northbrook College. A spokesperson said the data showed the combined salaries of both principals, and the Northbrook College principal had now left. “We have reported this inaccuracy to the team who produced the data and asked for it to be corrected immediately.”
Birmingham Metropolitan College paid £266,000 in salary to its principal Andrew Cleaves - the same as the previous year, while Hadlow College paid out £264,000 in salary to principal Paul Hannan.
UCU head of further education, Andrew Harden, said: “Too many college principals are showing themselves to be hopelessly out of touch, pocketing exorbitant salaries while pleading poverty to keep down staff pay.”
He added: “Many of the worst offenders appear to be at recently merged colleges, but mergers are no excuse for inflating leadership pay. We urgently need much greater transparency in how college leadership pay is decided to ensure proper accountability for staff, students and taxpayers.”
Challenging job
A spokesman for the Association of Colleges said: “Leading a college is an incredibly challenging job and it is vital that we have and retain the right people. College leaders juggle the needs of thousands of students, hundreds of staff and a range of stakeholders in an environment constrained by rising expectations and falling budgets.
“AoC’s governors council is looking at updating recommendations to help colleges make decisions fairly, effectively and in line with best practice.”
Matt Hamnett said: “We delivered rapid and significant improvements over the course of my time with [Hart Learning Group]. We made big changes and they worked. Last autumn’s Ofsted report - which judged NHC and Hart L&D provision to be good with outstanding features - speaks for itself as a marker of the progress we made. I am proud of the part I played in the group’s transformation.”
Performance related measures
And a spokesperson for the Hart Learning Group board said: “Matt’s compensation for 2016-17 included a one-off payment of accrued benefits and significant performance-related measures, earnt due to the success of our turnaround.”
The spokesperson added Mr Hamnett had led the college to a strong position. “We saw significant improvements across all measures in the most recent National Achievement Rate tables, demonstrating the pace and success of our transformation. Our November 2017 Ofsted report also highlighted the rapid and significant improvements in the quality of our teaching and outcomes for learners.”
A South Essex College spokesperson said the college was one of the largest FE providers in the country, based on 16-18 student numbers. “When this is taken into consideration, the principal’s salary as a ratio to the number of students is one of the lowest in the country.”
He added the total salary stated in the accounts includes pension and National Insurance contributions and added the cost to the college has reduced from 2015-16 to 2016-17.
A spokesperson for NCG said the role of chief executive was not like a traditional FE college principal’s role. “The chief executive is responsible for a large organisation with almost 3,000 employees spread across 61 locations.
Not just salary
The spokesperson said in the five years since Joe Docherty had joined NCG, he had received a 1 per cent pay rise, awarded in 2014-15.
A spokesman for Leeds City College said the amount listed not only included salary, but also performance-related pay and salary in lieu of pension, and a spokeswoman for Gateshead College also stressed performance-related pay was included in the figure.
A Burton and South Derbyshire College spokeswoman said the total remuneration of the chief executive and principal reflected not only her considerable skills and longevity of experience in college leadership and management but also her ongoing work in the successful direction of the college’s internationally based business.
Stoke on Trent College College had four different principals in the course of 2016-17, of which two were short-term interim roles. “It was one of these interim principals who was employed on a short-term pro-rata basis whose salary, if extrapolated out would have been £215,000 per annum. This was clearly never going to be the case as it was a short-term appointment leading up to the arrival of our current principal,” said a spokesperson.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Further education colleges are free to set their own salaries for staff but we would expect these to be fair, appropriate and justified. We would expect any pay to reflect the complexity and size of the leadership task at a college and command broad public confidence.”
The colleges that spent more than £200k
North Hertfordshire College £294,000
Greater Brighton Metropolitan College £291,000
Birmingham Metropolitan College £266,000
Hadlow College £264,000
Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College £260,000
Gateshead College £240,000
Leeds City College£233,000
NCG £227,000
Salford City College £223,000
LTE Group £221,000
South Essex College of Further and Higher Education £215,000
Stoke-on-Trent College £215,000
Burton and South Derbyshire College £212,000
WKCIC Group £210,000
Bridgwater and Taunton College £206,000
Cambridge Regional College £202,000
Weston College £200,000
*accounts for 2016-17 may contain figures for more than one holder of the principal post
