Fury as nearly 3,000 town hall penpushers earn £100,000-plus in pay and perks
NEARLY three thousand town hall penpushers earn £100,000-plus in pay and perks.
Some 721 of the 2,759 bureaucrats received more than £150,000 for the past year, research reveals.
Staggeringly, 165 of these made more than PM Rishi Sunak’s £164,951 salary, with one mandarin at Guildford Borough Council landing £607,633 — the most for any town hall worker.
The deal included pension contributions of £339,158, the TaxPayers’ Alliance found.
Next highest paid, at £570,000, was Sunderland’s executive director of neighbourhoods.
The amounts come amid recent reports of some councils in England taking up to 18 months to fix potholes.
TaxPayers’ Alliance boss John O’Connell said: “Many authorities continue with extremely generous pay and perks, like bonuses and golden goodbyes.
“Local people, meanwhile, are facing record council tax rises and a financial squeeze.
“They want to be sure they’re getting value for money.”
The Local Government Association said it was important to retain “the right people with the right skills” to help large, complex councils operate.
It added: “Senior pay is always decided by democratically elected councillors.”
Guildford Borough and Sunderland City Councils both said their bumper payments reflected the recipients’ long service.