Dear Tenant Area Panel Member/ Website Reader
West North West homes Leeds has a Board of 12 Directors. All of them currently give their time voluntarily to attend Board, Sub Committee and Panel meetings as well as many other business meetings, functions and events.
In 2006 the Government said it would allow Arms Length Management Organisations (ALMOs) like West North West homes Leeds to make a small payment to Directors to recognise the time and expertise they contribute into the organisations. They did this to bring ALMOs into line with housing associations, who have been able to pay their Directors for some time now.
Many ALMOs nationally have started to offer Board Director modest salaries, particularly Board Chairs as a way of recognising the time they commit and the skills they bring to the Board that we need to effectively govern public businesses of this size.
ALMO’s roles have developed and grown as the law has changed and as councils have given more responsibilities. This means that the role and responsibilities of our Board Directors has grown. The time the Chair and other Board Directors devote to the running of West North West homes Leeds has grown way beyond what we originally thought it would be when the ALMOs in Leeds were set up in 2003. As well as the increased time commitment, changes to good governance practice mean the level of skills a Director needs is growing all the time.
With the merger of six Leeds ALMOs into three in 2007, the size of the Board went from 16 to 12 (fewer people taking on a much bigger role) with the Chair of the Board’s role expanding even more. An average time commitment equal to 30 working days per year is becoming the norm for our Board Directors. Our current Chair devotes considerably more time to the organisation.
While at the start it may have been right to ask Directors and Chairs to serve on a voluntary basis, the growing time commitment and skills needed means that we now have to think about whether payment is appropriate to attract and retain high calibre Chairs and Directors.
For the past year, West North West Homes Leeds’ board has agreed to the principle of modest payments to Tenant and Independent Chairs and Board Directors. Since that time we have been in consultation with the Council and the other Leeds ALMOs on the subject.
The Council have considered the merits of Board Directors payments and at the current time have agreed to the principal of payment solely to pay the Chairs of Leeds ALMOs.
The Board Directors at WNWhL support this approach but are also mindful that they would wish the Council to reconsider extend the scheme to cover Tenant and Independent Directors at a point in the future.
The Councillors on the Board would not be paid, as the Council already pays them an allowance for being Councillors.
So, as part of developing our approach to the governing of the organisation we are asking you provide us with your views. Please use the feedback form here by clicking on the link to the right.
Please let us have your views by 18 September 2009.