Ofcom glass ceiling stands firm

New Ofcom boss Sharon White.

Second permanent secretary at the Treasury Sharon White will earn less than Ofcom CEO Ed Richardson when she replaces him in March 2015.

Richardson took home £393,204 in 2013/14 for doing the job, according to the Ofcom annual report  (p64) for the period. His pay was made up from salary (£284,362), pension (£56,872), flexible benefits (£19,956), benefits in kind (£2,014), and performance bonus (£30,000). The previous year he took home £378,158.

White, a black woman, will earn a salary of £275,000, Ofcom said.

A career civil servant, White was appointed to her present job in October 2013. Tom Scholar, the man she replaced, earned a salary between £150,000 and £155,000 a year, according to an October 2013 Gov.net report.

A Cambridge economics graduate, White joined the civil service in 1989, starting with spells in Washington, the No 10 Policy Unit, and the World Bank. she later worked in the Department for International Development, the Department of Work and Pensions, the Ministry of Justice and the Treasury.

She is married to Robert Chote, chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility since 2010. They have two children.

White was appointed by the Ofcom Board, vetted by an independent assessor, and approved by the secretary of state for culture, media and sport, Sajid Javid.