More than a dozen staff at cash-strapped Surrey County Council and almost 20 employees at neighbouring Hampshire County Council earned at least £100,000 in 2017/18, the TaxPayers’ Alliance annual report has revealed.
The Alliance’s chief executive said despite many in the public sector facing a pay freeze to help bring the public finances under control, many town hall bosses are continuing to pocket “huge remuneration packages”.
The news comes after both Surrey and Hampshire county councils increased council tax by 2.99 per cent earlier this month – adding to the tax hikes agreed by the counties’ lower-tier local authorities, police and fire services.
According to the latest TaxPayers’ Alliance’s Town Hall Rich List, 14 Surrey County Council employees were paid more than £100,000 in 2017/18 – including a total of £207,854 to its top earner, deputy chief executive and strategic, director of children, schools and families, Julie Fisher.
Across the border, 19 Hampshire employees were paid more than £100,000 – with chief executive John Coughlan pocketing £216,195.
The TaxPayers’ Alliance also claimed a further 41 staff within Surrey’s district and borough councils, and 26 within Hampshire’s, broke the £100,000 mark in 2017/18.
This includes two £100,000-plus packages given out to Waverley Borough Council employees, including the £187,064 paid to the council’s ‘chief executive’.
This post changed hands mid-way through the 2017/18 financial year – with Waverley’s current chief executive Tom Horwood joining the council as ‘interim managing director’ on a part-time arrangement with East Hampshire District Council (EHDC) and Havant Borough Council in August 2017, before assuming the chief executive position full-time in December 2017. Mr Horwood’s salary as of 2018/19 was reportedly £126,480.
At EHDC, four employees were paid more than £100,000 – albeit in a partnership agreement with Havant – with the chief executive role netting £132,066, plus an £18,622 pension.
Overall, the number of senior council officers across the two counties who were paid more then £100,000 has gone down from the previous year, when 16 Surrey County Council, 21 Hampshire County Council, three Waverley Borough Council and five EHDC employees made it to the list.
But John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, hit out at the authorities and said: “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.”But Waverley Borough Council has defended the pay packages awarded to its senior staff following criticism from the TaxPayers’ Alliance.Responding to the figures, a council spokesman said: “The overall headline figures in the report by the TaxPayers’ Alliance Ltd are based on the council’s accounts 2017/18, which are published on our website. “The figure listed by the TaxPayers’ Alliance Ltd was paid to the former executive director, but was not his salary as it included £132,344 compensation for loss of office and £6,101 employer’s contribution to the pension scheme.“Prior to appointing a new chief executive, the council considered a report on salaries in a public full council meeting on December 5, 2017 and agreed to set the chief executive and director salaries following independent advice, setting the figures near the Surrey average. “The salaries for the full-time chief executive and director roles were set at £124,000 and £102,000. “These amounts are reduced by pension contributions, tax and national insurance.”“All senior salary information is published online by the council in its annual accounts.”
* What do you think? Should Surrey and Hampshire’s councils keep paying out high salaries to keep the best people for the job – or should they take a harder look at their own payrolls before raising taxes and cutting community services? Email [email protected].