Tom Aitchison, Chief Executive

The Chief Executive is Tom Aitchison, who was appointed in May 1995. As Chief Executive for the City of Edinburgh Council, Tom is responsible for managing the second largest council in Scotland and the eighth largest unitary council in the United Kingdom.

The Chief Executive is the senior officer who leads and is accountable for the work of the over 19,000 paid staff of the Council, who run the local authority on a day to day basis. The role of Chief Executive is a full time appointment. Postholders are selected on merit, against objective criteria, following public advertisement. They are appointed by the whole Council.

By law, senior Council staff are not allowed to participate in any party political activity and are expected to advise and assist all councillors irrespective of their political affiliation.

As head of the paid service, the Chief Executive works closely with elected members to deliver the following:

• leadership: working with elected members to ensure strong and visible leadership and direction, encouraging and enabling managers to motivate and inspire their teams
• strategic direction: ensuring all staff understand and adhere to the strategic aims of the organisation and follow the direction set by the elected members;
• policy advice: acting as the principle policy adviser to the elected members of the Council to lead the development of workable strategies which will deliver the political objectives set by the councillors;
• partnerships: leading and developing strong partnerships across the local community to achieve improved outcomes and better public services for local people; and
• operational management: overseeing financial and performance management, risk management, people management and change management within the Council.

Key Responsibilities

Tom is responsible for leading the organisation to achieve the political goals set by the elected members, who represent the community. As with any organisation’s Chief Executive, his responsibilities are far-reaching and include:

• sound financial management of an organisation which has a gross revenue budget of about £1.3 billion and a capital budget of £294 million, an asset valuation of £2.2 billion, and the Lothian Pension Fund valued at £2.5 billion;
• ensuring the many statutory and legislative requirements set for local councils by Scottish, UK and European government are met;
• ensuring that the Council delivers high quality services for residents and visitors to the city - from schools and social work to housing, roads and transport, culture and leisure including sports centres and theatres;
• managing and developing a workforce of over 19,000 staff;
• developing and implementing a long-term strategy for Edinburgh’s development, helping to ensure that the Council plays its part in ensuring a successful and competitive economy in the city supporting sustainable communities and the infrastructure required to support growth, tourism and inward investment;
• establishing modern, effective transport arrangements and a range of affordable housing options;
• steering the Council towards achieving a cleaner, greener environment for the city, including adhering to Government targets and initiatives; and
• ensuring that the Council provides efficiencies and value for money in public services.

In addition to being the Council’s Chief Executive, Tom is:

• Chief Executive of Lothian and Borders Police Board (with a budget of £239 million);
• Chief Executive of Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Board (£55 million budget);
• Chief Executive of Lothian Joint Valuation Board (£7 million budget);
• Chief Executive of Forth Estuary Transport Authority (FETA) (£12 million budget); and
• Honorary Secretary of the Edinburgh International Festival Council.

He is also accountable for the Council’s commercial ventures and trust enterprises, which include:

• CEC Holdings Ltd, which includes the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, the property development and investment business EDI Group and its 11 joint venture subsidiaries;
• non-shareholding companies such as the Edinburgh Convention Bureau and Edinburgh International Science Festival Ltd; and
• companies limited by guarantee and/or trust, including Edinburgh Leisure and Edinburgh City Theatres Trust.

Edinburgh has a population of over 460,000 and growing, and it more than doubles with visitors during the International Festival in August. As Scotland’s capital city, the role of Chief Executive is pivotal, working closely with the Scottish Government and other key Scottish agencies in the city such as NHS Lothian, the Police and Fire services, the Universities, the financial sector and major businesses.

Personal Profile

• educated at Leith Academy in Edinburgh, Tom graduated in the 1970s with a first class MA from Glasgow University followed by an MSc at Heriot-Watt University;
• having held a number of policy and management positions, he was appointed Chief Executive of the former Lothian Regional Council in May 1994 and Chief Executive of the City of Edinburgh Council in May 1995;
• a past chairman of the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE), he has served on a number of national bodies and working groups; and
• awarded the CBE in June 2005 for services to local government.

Remuneration

The Chief Executive is paid £158,553* (no supplementary income).

Pension

The Local Government Pension Scheme is a contributory scheme; this means employees contribute to the scheme from their own salary.

The Chief Executive pays 10.8%* of his salary into the Local Government Pension scheme. The Council makes an employer’s contribution of 17.5%* into the scheme.

Expenses

The Chief Executive is able to reclaim a restricted range of legitimate and evidenced business expenses, including business travel.

Working Arrangements

The Chief Executive is expected to work such hours as are necessary to ensure the job gets done. This routinely involves working evenings and weekends as well as the standard Monday to Friday business week. The postholder is ‘on call’ at all other times, particularly to cover emergency planning requirements. No extra payments are made for such extended hours.

The Chief Executive is entitled to 30 days paid leave each year.

The postholder is subject to annual appraisal and review by a panel consisting of the Council Leader and other senior elected members.

* as at 2009/10 financial year

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