18-07-2025
Birmingham council boss received £469k as authority went ‘bankrupt'
The former chief executive of Birmingham City Council received £469,000 during the year she quit the effectively bankrupt authority.
Council accounts for the year 2023-2024 revealed Deborah Cadman was given £130,194 as compensation 'for loss of office' on top of a salary of £269,750 and pension contributions of £68,961.
The accounts also showed she had received a £25,000 pay rise at the start of 2023.
At the time of her departure, the council said she had not received a 'golden handshake', or settlement payment beyond her salary entitlements.
It comes after figures revealed the number of Birmingham City Council staff earning more than £100,000 has tripled in three years. There are now 57 people at the struggling council earning six-figure salaries, compared with 19 in 2022.
The council this week published its amended accounts for 2021-22 and overdue accounts for 2022-23 and 2023-24, alongside its accounts for the 12 months to April 2025.
Ms Cadman's departure in March 2024 was described at the time as a resignation. The council was under the oversight of government-appointed commissioners, led by Max Caller, who had responsibility for hiring and firing senior officers.
Since her departure Mr Caller has described the council he walked into, with Cadman at the helm, as ' failing in many areas ' and said that senior leaders failed to respond with sufficient urgency to the massive challenges.
Cadman's appointment in March 2021 was hailed as a historic moment – she was the first person of colour to lead the country's biggest unitary authority.
Under her leadership the council put on the Commonwealth Games in 2022, while the city's Labour politicians hailed a 'golden decade' ahead.
But behind the scenes things were falling apart, with multiple major projects running into huge problems alongside a poor culture of governance and secrecy.
It was also on her watch that equal pay liabilities continued to build, especially in a badly run waste service.
Prior to her departure she said she had been let down by senior colleagues with oversight of finances and operations, including the waste service, and had inherited a toxic environment.
In a Birmingham Live interview she had accepted 'some responsibility' for the mess the council was in but also pointed the finger at past senior members of the council team who had 'not done the right thing'.
When she quit she claimed she was going by choice and had always intended to leave once the council was on the road to improvement and recovery.
In a statement she said: 'It has been the honour of my life to be the chief executive of the city in which I was born and raised. I wish my colleagues every success in transforming the council into one that this great city deserves.'
The council said: 'Deborah Cadman was employed as chief executive of Birmingham city council until the end of March 2024. The £469,000 in the majority comprises her normal salary and pension contributions for that role earned up to her departure date.
'She was paid contractual notice pay on her exit from Birmingham of £130,000. No other severance payments or pension contributions were made in relation to her exit.
'There are processes in place that set out the framework for senior salary levels and that ensure value for money, but it is important that we are able to recruit and retain experienced experts to implement policy and oversee performance across a range of vital services.
