HS2 chief executive Mark Thurston earned £622,700 last year, the project’s annual report has revealed.
In the 12 months to 31 March 2022, Thurston saw his basic salary return to close to where it was before the pandemic.
In the previous financial year, he took a “voluntary salary reduction” of 20 per cent for the last four months of 2020/21, in light of the “broader market conditions in 2020”.
Thurston is the highest-paid public servant in the UK, according to Cabinet Office data.
In the financial year ended 31 March 2020, Thurston earned £660,000, which included a bonus of £36,000. Both Thurston and HS2’s chief financial officer, Michael Bradley, opted to reject performance-related bonuses in 2021 and 2022.
Bradley earned £311,700, a slight decrease on his total pay of £312,000 in 2020/21.
HS2 chief commercial officer Ruth Todd made £168,000. As she joined the project in July 2021, she did not earn her full £240,000 salary in the financial year.
HS2 chair Allan Cook, who previously earned £230,000 for three days’ work per week, left the organisation the same month that Todd joined, and so he earned £76,000 during the period. The post of chair was vacant for the rest of the financial year and has still not been filled. It was advertised with a £200,000 salary.
The annual report for 2021/22 also shows that HS2’s total expenditure in the year jumped to £5.23bn, from £3.36bn in the year prior. Much of that came from a substantial increase in capital expenditure due to “ongoing works following notice to proceed for phase one”.
In total, HS2 spent £4.96bn on phase one, the majority of which was on civils work.
In the report, Thurston said there was “significant momentum” building on phase one, which meant early-works contractors were starting to demobilise.
Thurston said HS2 was “feeling the effects” of widespread inflation. “[We] are working closely with our supply chain to assess the impact on the programme and to seek opportunities to mitigate market-driven cost pressures where possible.”
But he added that the progress reports submitted by HS2 to the government demonstrate the company’s “disciplined approach” to managing public money. “[It also emphasises] our commitment to mitigating emerging risks and issues.”
