PAY

Council leaders defend pay decisions after pressure group findings

Council leaders have defended senior pay in response to a report that found the number of staff receiving more than £100,000 increased.

Council leaders have defended senior pay in response to a report that found the number of staff receiving more than £100,000 increased. 

Research by the right-wing libertarian think-tank TaxPayers' Alliance (TPA) found the number of council staff receiving more than £100,000 increased by 119 to at least 2,921 people during the pandemic.

The TPA also found that 739 of these people received more than £150,000 - 46 more than the previous year and the highest number in 15 years.

Of the 10 local authorities with the most employees receiving more than £100,000, eight were London councils.

But a spokesperson for the Local Government Association said: ‘Councils are large, complex organisations with sizable budgets and responsibility for more than 1,300 different statutory duties and responsibilities that make a huge difference to people's lives.

'It is important that the right people with the right skills and experience are retained to deliver this important work.

‘Senior pay is always decided by democratically elected councillors in an open and transparent way.'

PAY

Fiscal devolution: No risk, plenty of reward

By Heather Jameson | 14 March 2025

Is mayors' lobbying hiatus on fiscal devolution the right decision, asks Heather Jameson.

PAY

DCN warns of reorganisation risks

By Paul Marinko | 13 March 2025

A new report commissioned by the District Councils’ Network (DCN) has warned reorganisation risks being ‘change that isn’t change’ if it results in ‘bigger, ...

PAY

LGR: What we must get right

By Emma McGowan | 12 March 2025

Emma McGowan feels the moves toward Local Government Reorganisation is a once in a lifetime chance to set things up differently for the next generation, crea...

PAY

The good, the bad and the ugly

By Christopher Hammond | 12 March 2025

Christopher Hammond says new powers on climate action offer genuine promise, but local authorities are held back by a lack of defined roles, conflicting remi...

Popular articles by William Eichler