FOIA request: 14 February 2006

Detailed request

• Actual fees paid to non-executive directors in 2004/05;
• Actual fees paid to non-executive directors in 2005/06;
• Anticipated fees to be paid to non-executive directors in 2006/07;
• The time commitment of each non-executive director;
• Additional fees paid to the senior independent director and committee chairs;
• Other appropriate allowances;
• Frequency of revision of fee levels of non-executive director;
• Whether or not the Corporation has a Pension Trustee.

Response provided

In response to your request, I enclose excerpts from the Corporation’s 2004/2005 Annual Report and Accounts (refer to pages 51-52).  This sets out the remuneration paid to Board members in both 2004 and 2005 [see 7(a)].  For the financial year ended 31 March 2005, the position of Deputy Chair received an annual fee of £25,854, regular Board members received £12,025 per annum, and Committee Chairs received £14,585 per annum.  Please note that Board members, with the exception of the Chief Executive, are paid directly by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

The attached material also states that the average commitment of the Chairman is two days a week and that, at the time of publication, the average time commitment of other Board members was up to five days a month [see 7(b)]. 

Finally, Board members receive no other benefits, special pension arrangements or other remuneration [see 7(a)].  The exception to this is that Chairman and Deputy Chairman may become members of a pension scheme [see 7(c)].  Board members are, of course, entitled to recover any actual expenses that they incur.

In addition to this material, I can also inform you that the average commitment of the Deputy Chair is four to five days per month (both at the time of the above figures and presently), and that during the current financial year the average time commitment of ordinary Board members has been reduced to two to three days per month.  Fees paid to Board members are revised annually, and for the 2005/06 financial year they are:

• Chairman - £47,399
• Deputy Chairman - £27,109
• Chairs of sub-committees - £14,993
• Ordinary board members - £12,362

As far as I am aware, fees for the 2006/07 financial year are still yet to be set.

Finally, the Corporation does not have a Pension Trustee as the Corporation is part of the City of Westminster Pension Scheme.