Spin or saving? The real cost of Hartlepool’s incoming Chief Executive
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
New council boss set to replace the Outgoing Denise McGuckin will cost less today — but pay gap with predecessor ‘wiped out by inflation’ in less than six years...
15th Feb 2026
Hartlepool Borough Council’s decision to appoint Matt Wilton as its new Chief Executive has been accompanied by the headline-friendly claim that the move will save local taxpayers around £20,000 a year. The rather 'outlandish' claims made from the Labour Council Leader Pamela Hargreaves-Brash in a statement made to a local newspaper recently appears to offer a rare piece of good news for residents facing continued pressure from council tax rises and the wider cost-of-living crisis, however delve deeper into it & you find its been an enormous PR stunt of Spin & Misinformation.
Mr Wilton, currently Deputy Chief Executive at Newcastle City Council, has been recommended for the councils most senior officer role and will replace Chief Executive Denise McGuckin when she retires later this year following a dramatic loss of confidence from her staff which resulted in a number oof senior council officials departing in quick succession. The council has promoted the appointment of Matt Wilton as a key leadership decision at a time when Hartlepool is embarking on what it describes as a “transformative” period driven by major regeneration investment.
However, closer examination of how senior local government pay operates suggests that the widely quoted annual saving may prove short-lived just as it was when the outgoing CEO was appointed to the role some five years ago.
This is because, whilst the starting salary attached to the new post is seemingly lower than the current Chief Executive’s remuneration, council chief officer pay is not static. It's actually subject to nationally negotiated cost-of-living awards, incremental progression where applicable, and periodic market-rate reviews designed to retain senior staff in an increasingly competitive recruitment environment.
When those factors are then applied over a medium-term period, the financial gap begins to narrow rapidly.
Based on typical public-sector pay award patterns in recent years — frequently running at between two and four per cent — and allowing for ongoing inflationary pressure on senior salary bands, the new Chief Executive’s earnings trajectory would therefore rise year on year. By the time those cumulative increases are factored in, the initial £20,000 differential is eroded to the point where, in just over six years, the overall remuneration package becomes broadly comparable with that of the outgoing post-holder in today’s terms.
In other words, what's being presented as a recurring saving is, in reality, a short-term gap created by the difference between two points on a pay scale at a single moment in time.
This distinction matters because it goes to the heart of how local government finances are communicated to the public. A one-year snapshot can create the impression of a structural reduction in spending, thus, saving the local tax payer money, when in practice the long-term cost profile remains largely unchanged.
The issue isn't unique to Hartlepool. Across the country, councils have faced mounting difficulty recruiting and retaining experienced chief executives, particularly those with a track record in regeneration, devolution funding and organisational change. That pressure has pushed remuneration levels ever upwards, and made below-market starting salaries difficult to sustain over the life of a contract.
For taxpayers living in Hartlepool, the key question is therefore not the headline saving in year one, but the total cost of the role over time including Pension Contributions.
The borough is entering a period in which hundreds of millions of pounds’ worth of capital schemes are either planned or underway, placing significant strategic and financial responsibility on its most senior officer. In that context, the council will inevitably come under pressure to ensure its pay offer remains competitive with comparable authorities.
That reality means the current £20,000 gap is best understood as a transitional figure rather than a permanent reduction in expenditure.
None of this diminishes Mr Wilton’s credentials for the role or the significance of the leadership change at the top of the organisation. But it does highlight the difference between a short-term saving and a long-term financial position — a distinction that's likely to be of increasing interest to residents who ultimately fund the local council through their council tax.
And whether locals really are getting 'Value for Money'....
