Retired council boss hired in £1,000-a-day role

Former Exeter City Council boss Karime Hassan has been taken on by Plymouth City Council

The former chief executive of a city council who retired in 2023 has landed a new job with a different council being paid an estimated £1,000 a day.

Karime Hassan MBE left Exeter City Council in March 2023.

He has now been hired by Plymouth City Council as the interim strategic director for growth.

Plymouth City Council has not disclosed Mr Hassan's salary but a council report said there was a "shortage of high-quality candidates" for this type of role and the market rate was between £1,000 and £1,300 a day.

Plymouth City Council (its debating chamber is pictured left) has hired Karime Hassan on at least £1,000 a day

In his previous job as chief executive and growth director at Exeter, Mr Hassan was paid an annual salary of more than £123,000.

Exeter City Council announced his retirement in December 2022, saying he was leaving after "a golden decade".

Exeter City Council accounts show he received £369,680 from the council in 2022/23, made up of his salary, compensation for loss of office of £60,877 and employer's pension contributions of £185,125.

The chief officer appointments panel on Plymouth City Council agreed in August that an interim strategic director for growth should be "engaged initially for six months, but with the option to extend to nine months pending the permanent appointment to the role".

A spokesman for the city council said the pay rates in the appointments panel report were "indicative" and did not necessarily mean the role was being paid for on a daily rate.

The council said the pay band for the role was an annual salary of £136,920 to £163,904.

The employment of Mr Hassan follows the departure of Anthony Payne from his role as strategic director for place - the name of the role was changed to strategic director for growth ahead of the new appointment.

The chief executive of Plymouth City Council, Tracey Lee, was paid £184,773 with additional pension contributions of £32,356 in 2023/24 according to the council's annual accounts.