Survey reveals over 2,000 council staff earning more than £100,0000

The TaxPayers’ Alliance has published its eighth Town Hall Rich List, the Who’s Who of senior local government executives which details the job titles, full remuneration and many of the names of all local council employees whose remuneration exceeds £100,000.

The Town Hall Rich List examines senior executive pay in local government, making it a vital tool for taxpayers wanting to judge which authorities are delivering the best value for money.

Executive pay in many local authorities across the UK continues to be insulated from economic reality, despite the urgent need to find savings and the fact that many councils claim that they have insufficient cash to fund frontline services, and enforce pay freezes on their rank and file staff.

The key findings of the research are:

  • There were at least 2,181 council employees who received total remuneration in excess of £100,000 in 2011-12, a fall of 5 per cent on the previous year’s 2,295.
  • Despite this, 93 councils increased the number of staff who received remuneration in excess of £100,000 in 2011-12.
  • These six-figure remuneration packages cost the taxpayer nearly £300 million in 2012-13
  • Knowsley Council more than doubled the number of staff who received remuneration in excess of £100,000 in 2012-13 to 15, the biggest increase of any local authority.
  • The figure of 2,181 is almost certainly an underestimate. The opacity of some councils’ accounts makes it impossible to separate teaching staff from council staff. To ensure accuracy, any data about which we were unclear and would have shown more council employees receiving £100,000 or more in 2012-13 has been omitted.
  • In 2012-13, there were 542 council employees who received remuneration over £150,000.
  • Of these, 34 council employees received remuneration in excess of £250,000.
  • The council with the most employees in receipt of remuneration over £100,000 in 2012-13 was Glasgow with 32. There were 52 councils with at least 10 employees receiving more than £100,000 in 2012-13.
  • The council employee with the largest remuneration package in the UK in 2012-13 was David Crawford, the Executive Director of Social Care Services at Glasgow Council who received £486,303. That total included a considerable redundancy package.
  • The highest paid council employee, excluding larger than usual, one-off payments due to redundancy or retirement, was received by I. Craig, Managing Director of Lothian Buses, a subsidiary 91 per cent owned by the City of Edinburgh Council who received £300,081.
  • The highest paid council Chief Executive not in receipt of one-off payments due to redundancy was Paul Martin, Chief Executive of Wandsworth Council, who received £274,224.
  • The largest remuneration package in Wales in 2012-13 was received by Jonathan House, Chief Executive of Cardiff Council, who received £258,006. Cardiff Council also had the most employees receiving remuneration in excess of £100,000 in 2012-13 with 9.
  • The largest remuneration package in Scotland and highest in the UK was David Crawford, Executive Director of Social Care Services at Glasgow Council, received £486,303, in 2012-13. Glasgow also had the most employees receiving in excess of £100,000 in 2012-13 with 32.
  • The largest remuneration package in London in 2012-13 was Paul Martin, Chief Executive of Wandsworth Council, who received £274,224. Wandsworth also had the most employees receiving remuneration in excess of £100,000 with 29.

Jonathan Isaby, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said:”It is good news that the number of senior council staff making more than £100,000 a year is falling, although that may only be because many authorities have finished paying eye-watering redundancy bills.

“Sadly, too many local authorities are still increasing the number of highly paid staff on their payroll. It’s particularly galling in places where councils are pleading poverty and demanding more and more in Council Tax. Taxpayers expect their council to be filling potholes, not pay packets. Many rank-and-file staff in local councils will be equally appalled – at a time when councils across the country are freezing pay, it appears the money they’re saving is being used to line the pockets of town hall tycoons.”

Click here to read the full report, including detailed breakdowns for each council
http://www.taxpayersalliance.com/thrl2014.pdf

Click here for the data in an excel spreadsheet
http://www.taxpayersalliance.com/thrl2014.xls