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Council chiefs' pay in spotlight End public pay excess, say Tories
(1 day later)
Councils must prove senior officers' pay is "reasonable", a local government chief has warned as it was revealed over 1,000 earn six-figure salaries. A Tory government would end the "age of excess" in public sector pay, shadow chancellor George Osborne has said.
Research by the Taxpayers' Alliance found those earning £100,000 or more rose by a "staggering" 27% in a year. He told the BBC pay should reflect economic conditions and the Conservatives would change the "culture of Whitehall" to save money.
Local Government Association head John Ransford said councils must be able to justify pay in the current climate. Meanwhile, a pressure group's report suggests more than 1,000 council bosses earn six-figure salaries.
Solace, the body representing council chief executives, said adequate pay was essential to attract the best managers. The government said this justified its plans to make councils publish the pay packages of 2,500 top earners.
'Rewarding failure' A report by the Taxpayers' Alliance suggests those earning £100,000 or more rose by 27% in a year - with at least 16 people being paid more than Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Maria Fort, policy analyst for the Taxpayers' Alliance, said the figures involved were "morally indefensible" during a recession. Economic conditions
She added that too many local authorities were secretive about pay for their top earners, despite the fact that several earn over £200,000 a year. The group published its "town hall rich list", based on replies to Freedom of Information requests submitted to 469 local authorities.
Local taxpayers would expect their town hall officials to be tightening their belts in difficult economic times Caroline SpelmanShadow Local Government and Communities Secretary The top package, according to the list, was for Wakefield Council's former chief executive John Foster.
"The fact that executives who have overseen increases in council tax, cuts in services and major policy failures are getting ever more generously rewarded is frustrating for taxpayers who are struggling to make ends meet," she said. His £205,000 salary was part of a £545,000 remuneration package for Mr Foster, who left the post in March 2008.
"In too many town halls there is a culture of rewarding failure. Councils must start tightening their belts." The second highest package went to former Shrewsbury and Atcham chief executive Robin Hooper - who received £335,848. He left the post in December 2007, having been paid a £87,616 salary, a redundancy package worth £168,000 and further compensation packages.
Mr Ransford said the employees involved represented just 0.0005% of the local government workforce. TOP TEN PACKAGES John Foster, Wakefield: £545,000*Robin Hooper, Shrewsbury & Atcham: £335,848*Peter Gilroy, Kent: £255,000Derek Myers, Kensington & Chelsea: £225,000Derrick Anderson, Lambeth: £218,870Andrea Hill, Bedfordshire: £208, 767Peter Rogers, Westminster: £205,000Caroline Tapster, Hertfordshire: £202,503Sir Howard Bernstein, Manchester: £199, 056Dr Richard Shaw, Surrey: £199,000 >Source: Taxpayers' Alliance survey >*Salary and redundancy packages class="" href="/1/hi/england/dorset/7985372.stm"> Council axes £150,000 agency job class="" href="/1/hi/uk_politics/7986129.stm"> Council workers offered 0.5% rise
He said it was right that the best candidates were found to run councils, which spend £100bn of taxpayers' money on services. Asked on BBC Radio 4's Today programme how he would restore the public finances if he were chancellor, Mr Osborne said: "I haven't ruled out further tax rises although I will work hard to avoid them because I think where the bulk of the strain needs to be borne is on spending restraint."
But he said they needed to "balance this with the need, in a tight financial situation, for all salaries to be demonstrably reasonable". That would include ensuring pay settlements reflected the "prevailing conditions in the economy", he said.
He added: "In these tough economic times it is only right that everyone gets to see how much is paid to the people who help deliver their local services. He also said there was a need to "look at" the three-year public sector pay deals because "they may be very inflexible at a time when the economic conditions are changing very quickly".
"Many councils have bigger budgets than FTSE 100 companies and to get the brightest people to deliver the best services for local people they need to pay a competitive wage. It was "difficult to justify" very high salaries in the public sector, he said, and any quango boss being paid more than the prime minister would have to justify themselves to the Treasury, Mr Osborne said.
"Unlike the private sector, people can show whether they think this is wrong by voting at the ballot box." "It sends a very powerful signal throughout the public sector that the age of excess is over and we need an age of restraint and responsibility."
However, Shadow Local Government and Communities Secretary Caroline Spelman said the report's findings were "galling". Local Government Association head John Ransford said the employees involved in the Taxpayers' Alliance report represented just 0.0005% of the local government workforce.
She promised that Conservatives would make town halls more accountable and freeze council tax to help families and pensioners. 'Great managers'
"Local taxpayers would expect their town hall officials to be tightening their belts in difficult economic times," Ms Spelman added. He said it was right that the best candidates were found to run councils, which spend £100bn of taxpayers' money on services but that had to be balanced with the need for pay to be "demonstrably reasonable".
Local Government Minister John Healey said the figures justified his plans to compel councils to publish the remuneration packages of 2,500 top earners. "Many councils have bigger budgets than FTSE 100 companies and to get the brightest people to deliver the best services for local people they need to pay a competitive wage," he said.
Local government minister John Healey said the figures justified his plans to make councils to publish the remuneration packages of 2,500 top earners.
He added: "Councils have big jobs to do that need the best people, but senior salaries are rising far faster than other areas.He added: "Councils have big jobs to do that need the best people, but senior salaries are rising far faster than other areas.
"In a downturn the public rightly expects councils to tighten their belts with every penny possible focussed on frontline services.""In a downturn the public rightly expects councils to tighten their belts with every penny possible focussed on frontline services."
Solace director general David Clark denied salaries were out of control. His colleague Health Secretary Alan Johnson said some action had already been taken to restrict senior salaries.
He said the Tories should save money by scrapping their pledge to abolish inheritance tax on properties worth less than £1m - a policy Labour says benefits only the wealthy - rather than "cutting the pay of nurses, teachers and police".
But David Clark, director general of Solace, the body representing council chief executives, denied salaries were out of control.
"The public sector needs great managers because we are in a serious recession and the public will want good services without an increase in taxes," he said."The public sector needs great managers because we are in a serious recession and the public will want good services without an increase in taxes," he said.
"Councils chase chief executives with a proven track record in delivering excellence. This competition drives the market in a very small numbers of cases.""Councils chase chief executives with a proven track record in delivering excellence. This competition drives the market in a very small numbers of cases."