A pair of senior managers at Harrow Council are set to receive pay rises of six per cent after their roles and responsibilities were “re-evaluated”.

Patrick O’Dwyer, director of education services, and Johanna Morgan, director of people services strategy and commissioning, will see their annual salary jump from £103,527 to £109,785.

If approved by Harrow Council’s chief officer employment panel today (Thursday, March 18), as per recommendations by department director Paul Hewitt, this £6,000 increase will also be backdated from April 2020.

In his report, Mr Hewitt’s stated: “People services has a significant number of challenges and opportunities; specifically, budget pressures, supporting our schools and early years community, and social care.

“At a strategic directorate level, the overall structure and how it is operating in practice is good and fit for purpose.

“The roles of these posts, director of education services and director of people services strategy and commissioning, are critical to ensure that there are clear lines of accountability across the directorate, and clarity about these accountabilities for both internal and external stakeholders.”

He explained the make-up of the department is constantly reviewed but, given the performance of these directors, a wider restructure was deemed “not appropriate at this time”.

Rather, the job roles were updated to cover more responsibilities and, as a result, were pushed up a remuneration band.

The decision comes after the council approved its latest budget, which included a 4.99 per cent council tax increase and the management of a funding gap of £8 million.