Dorset councillors criticise internal pay structure

It's been revealed there are 20+ members paid more than 100-thousand pounds per year.

Author: Trevor Bevins, Local Democracy ReporterPublished 13th Apr 2022
Last updated 13th Apr 2022

Weymouth councillor David Gray is calling on Dorset Council to review its senior management structure.

The move comes after revelations about the number of senior officers of salary and pension deals worth over £120,000 a year.

The Taxpayer’s Alliance figure said that more 26 Dorset Council staff are now paid more than £100,000 annually, eight more than in the previous year, with chief executive Matt Prosser getting a £170,000 salary in addition to £28,000 a year into his pension pot, the pension payment alone in line with average male earnings in the rural county.

Dorset Council has disputed the figures and says 21 staff are on more than £100,000.

In a question to this week’s full Dorset Council meeting at County Hall, Dorchester on Thursday evening Cllr Gray says: “Since the press reports about the level of executive pay within Dorset Council and the recent resident survey results suggesting that only 37% of residents in the Dorset Council area think they get ‘Value for Money’ from Dorset Council is it time, during this phase of transformation and in our final 2 years of this Council, to revisit the Senior Management structure and remuneration packages to gauge whether they are fit for purpose?”

When the story about pay rates was published, on April 6th, the Lib Dem opposition leader on the Conservative-controlled council, Cllr Nick Ireland, claimed the management structure was “top heavy” and not serving the interests of residents, who pay one of the highest council taxes in the country.

Said a Dorset Council spokesman: “The increase (in employees earning more than £100k) is attributable to the filling of a vacant post and the fact that we have moved six employees from NHS terms and conditions from Public Health Dorset to council chief officer terms and conditions. There was no additional recruitment and the salaries of these individuals did not change as a result – so it’s just a change in the way information is presented….

“The size, complexity and statutory responsibility of Dorset Council are reflected in chief officer salaries. Councillors set chief officer salaries having benchmarked them against other similar sized authorities.”

The council said it has made significant cost savings by merging previous district and borough councils to create Dorset Council and does keep senior posts under review.

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