Sunderland tops town hall UK rich list

Sunderland Council has topped a list of the highest pay-out given to a member of staff last year, at over £625,000.

Research from the Tax Payers Alliance found that more than 2000 council staff in the country are raking in more than £100,000, despite cuts across the board.

Durham County Council had the most employees who received remuneration in excess of £100,000, with 20, according to the report.

Meanwhile, over £1.6million was handed out to three members of staff at Sunderland Council last year, given them three places in the top five.

Nationally, the figures found that there had been a rise in remuneration in excess of £100,000 between 2015-16, at 2,314 employees receiving it, 89 more than the previous year.

More than 500 council employees received total remuneration in excess of £150,000 in 2015-16.

The report explains many senior managers at local authorities have performed well in tough financial times, with many reports of residents seeing no difference in the services they receive despite the necessary savings being made. However, the Town Hall Rich List also showcases the executives who have overseen failing departments, or received bumper pay-offs after poor performance in the job.

John O'Connell, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said:

“The average council tax bill has gone up by more than £900 over the last twenty years and spending has gone through the roof. Disappointingly, many local authorities are now responding to financial reality through further tax rises and reducing services rather than scaling back top pay.

Despite many in the public sector facing a much-needed pay freeze to help bring the public finances under control, many town hall bosses are continuing to pocket huge remuneration packages, with the number of people on six-figure deals actually going up since last year.

"There are talented people in the public sector who are trying to deliver more for less, but the sheer scale of these packages raise serious questions about efficiency and priorities."

A spokesperson for Sunderland Council said:

“These figures reflect the terms and conditions for eight senior employees no longer employed by the council, including former Chief Executive Dr Dave Smith.

“They include payments to the Pension Fund to reflect payments in the future.”

Paul Darby, head of financial and HR services at Durham County Council, said:

“Our management team was created when the council, the sixth largest single tier authority in England and the largest in the North East, was formed to replace the eight former councils across County Durham. This move saved £3million in senior management costs at the time.

“The salaries of senior managers and that of the Chief Executive were individually assessed in 2008, prior to the creation of the new council, by specialist, independent consultants to ensure that the levels of pay were equal to the responsibilities involved and in line with comparable senior executive pay.

“At the time, the chief executive’s salary was set at £200,000, the corporate directors at £140,000 and the assistant chief executive at £120,000.

“Since then senior executive pay has stayed at the same level, while the number of corporate directors has been reduced by nearly 17 per cent and the chief executive’s salary reduced by £15,000 a year.”

Read the full report here. https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/taxpayersalliance/pages/6911/attachments/original/1491491587/Town_Hall_Rich_List_Master.pdf?1491491587