New research shows that councils acted swiftly to reduce their pay bills – and have an excellent record on equal pay, reports Dermott Calpin

So, now, at last, there is some hard information to inform the great debate about jobs and non-jobs, front and back-office roles and ‘fat cat' salaries in local government. Described as summarising the ‘best and most up-to-date' data, the Local Government Group has published a pay and workforce report which fleshes out much of the fine detail of those who work for councils in England and Wales.