A total of 2,802 staff were paid at least £100,000 in 2019-20 with 693 getting a salary above £150,000
The number of local council employees being paid six-figure salaries has increased by nearly 5 per cent as council tax bills rise, according to new research from the Taxpayers’ Alliance campaign group.
A total of 2,802 staff were paid at least £100,000 in 2019-20 with 693 getting a salary above £150,000 and some councils paying dozens of employees six-figure sums.
It comes as most councils in England prepare to raise tax bills by 5 per cent, well above the rate of inflation – a move opposed by Labour as well as by anti-taxation campaigners.
In Scotland, council tax has been frozen in most areas this year with authorities subsidised by the Scottish Government instead. According to a poll by Public First, most voters are against an above-inflation rise in council tax and support a freeze in salaries to prevent it.
Essex county council employed 40 people on pay of £100,000 in the latest available year, more than any other local authority, while Glasgow paid 14 members of staff at least £150,000. The average council had seven employees on six-figure salaries.
A survey of 2,000 adults conducted last month found 61 per cent were opposed to a real-terms rise in council tax with just 15 per cent supporting it. 59 per cent said they would support “freezing or cutting salaries of the most senior staff” to save councils money.
John O’Connell, chief executive of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said: Taxpayers facing huge and hated council tax rises want to know they are getting value for money from their local authority leadership. At the onset of the coronavirus crisis, thousands of town hall officials were taking home huge sums. While councils were plunged into tackling the pandemic, many staff will have more than earned their keep, but households have nevertheless struggled with enormous and unpopular council tax rises.