Number of council high earners increases
MORE than 80 Yorkshire council employees received salary packages of more than £100,000 in the 2008-09 financial year, according to a new study.
According to the TaxPayers’ Alliance, which has compiled the research, the number of council senior staff across the UK receiving large pay packages has “soared” despite the recession.
The study found that 31 people earned more than Prime Minister Gordon Brown in 2008-09, up from 19 the previous financial year.
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The TaxPayers’ Alliance’s research found that in Yorkshire, Leeds City Council chief executive Paul Rogerson, who is set to retire, is the highest paid town hall employee in Yorkshire. Mr Rogerson earned between £191,158 and £195,158 last year, the report found.
Hull City Council chief executive Kim Ryley, who has since left the authority, earned £196,298. However, his replacement, Nicola Yates, earns less than that.
According to the study, three councils in Yorkshire – Leeds, East Riding and Kirklees – had at least 10 employees with pay packages worth £100,000 or more in 2008-09.
Across the country, six-figure sums were paid to 1,250 employees, a 14% rise on the previous year.
John O’Connell, policy analyst at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Town Hall bosses have had a very good recession at taxpayers’ expense. More of them than ever are earning massive amounts, and they even enjoyed a healthy pay rise while everyone else was suffering pay freezes, cuts or redundancies.
“It is unfair that these public servants have been having a whale of a time while the ordinary taxpayers who fund their generous deals have been struggling to survive the recession. Now that most councils are in financial trouble, these senior managers must take serious pay cuts to help make ends meet.”
The average remuneration package for those on the Rich List was £125,745, while the average pay rise was 5%.
Councils must publish the names and salary of anyone earning more than £150,000 after new rules came into force yesterday.
They must also give an indication of the number of people earning more than £50,000.
The Tories are set to announce today plans for any new salary of more than £150,000 to be voted on by the full council if the party wins the General Election.
A number of local authorities did not take part in the study, the TaxPayers’ Alliance said.
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